The list that changed everything

She made a list,
One that kept growing,
As the lockdown was extended,
Again, and again.

She wanted to,
Go out without fear
(hopefully without a mask!),
To live in a world where,
"entry" was not restricted,
Go on a shopping spree,
Visit friends and family,
Dine out with her loved ones,
Order her favourite dishes,
To travel and explore,
Experiment with food and fashion,
Discover new cuisines and restaurants!
Watch a movie,
Attend a concert,
Visit the library,
Go out for a walk,
Enjoy the glorious sunset,
Visit her favourite lakes and parks.
Hop on a bus or train, and hit the road,
Go bowling on Friday nights,
Pay a visit to her favourite bookstores,
Pamper herself at the salon,
To have contact with other humans,
(Video calls and texts weren't the same.)
Visit a supermarket,
that didn't have empty racks.
Attend the weddings of her loved ones,
So on, and so forth,
On and on went her list,
That seemed never-ending.

The funerals were getting too much.
Her heart broke and her eyes welled up,
As she thought of the countless people
Who had been robbed of a chance,
Even to bid,
a proper goodbye to their loved ones.
The official numbers were high,
Yet many seemed to think that
The actual numbers were even higher
The numbers were rising sharply,
The curve was far from flattening,
Security measures,
and precautions were imposed,
No stones were left unturned,
The government had pulled out all the stops,
To combat the invisible enemy,
That just couldn't be conquered. Yet.
But covidiots who violated them,
 did pose a huge threat!

When the lone millennial felt trapped,
Between the four walls of her apartment,
She ventured out to her balcony,
Where she watched the flowers in bloom,
Sway lightly in the wind,
Watched the birds and squirrels,
Hopping from one branch to another,
Oblivious to her disconcert.
Nature provided a healing balm,
For her troubled mind.
The ray of sunshine
that filtered through the thick canopy,
Reminded her to never let go of hope.
Drawing inspiration from nature,
Her spirits were lifted.

She made another list,
This time, the list was
of the things that she was grateful for;
To have a roof over her head,
For having access to food, water, and money.
To have a job,
To be safe in her home,
For keeping her loved ones safe and sound,
For electricity, Wi-Fi,
blogging, books, and technology,
Technology that helped her stay connected,
Despite the miles
that separated her from her loved ones.
Safe from the clutches of poverty,
disease, and hunger.
And for having the time to be worried.
The new list made her realize,
how lucky she was indeed!
She had finally counted her blessings,
And that stopped her
from moping around aimlessly.
Hers were no real hardships.
Many had it worse.
She offered a silent prayer,
For the ones who were suffering,
ailing, and braving the odds,
For the ones who were at the front-lines,
Waging a war against the formidable virus.
She wondered how long it would last,
April had come and gone.
She hoped
that May would bring good tidings.

Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop!

This really long verse was written in response to the following prompts:

WordPress’ Discover Prompts: List and Grateful.

Fandago’s FOWC prompt: Experiment.

The Daily Spur’s Word of the Day: Official.

Your Daily Word Prompt: Disconcert.

Word of the Day Challenge: Lone

Di’s Three Things Challenge #221: Last, Entry, May.

Click on the links to know more about the challenges and to read the responses of other particpants.

Click here to read all my other poems. 🙂

Image courtesy: Pixabay

Don’t hesitate to like, share and subscribe. 🙂

Follow me on Twitter | Instagram

© 2020 Shweta Suresh. All rights reserved.