Very Unusual Tracy Shi, 11 Everybody is at home in the House Siblings shouting at each other every day I think my eardrums would break if I had eardrums, says the House. The TV used so often now I’ll never be able to have a break if I keep being used every five minutes exclaims the TV. Very Unusual Books are now being stacked onto tables taken off of book shelves Being read everyday over and over again. I’ve never been used this much, says many books. Something is out of place Very Unusual I used to be used every day in the morning and afternoon But now I just sit in the garage says the car all lonely. The only time I’m used now is when going to the grocery store. Nobody is rushing to drive to send their kids to school, everybody is all at home. Very Unusual People wearing masks wherever they go carrying hand sanitizer Disinfecting everything from doorknobs to furniture and floors. Very Unusual I say The streets are quiet, Not the usual traffic that comes around this time. When I go outside I can feel the wind in my hair– The birds chirping happily perched in their unbothered trees. As you can see the Earth is quite happy at this time “Alas I can rest some more before it goes back to what it was before” replies the Earth. Very Unusual This is the street, empty, but usually at this time there’s a lot of traffic.
COVID-19
Hide and Seek, a short story by Adam Smith, 13
Adam Smith, 13London, UK Hide and Seek Adam Smith, 13 I laughed as I charged along the tree-lined sunlit path with my friends in tow. I slipped, and we all giggled as I dusted myself off, not in a toxic or harmful way but in the playful way that all children have before they hit adolescence. Then one of my friends suggested we play hide and seek, and then I agreed to be the seeker, the role that all children abhor. I counted to twenty and put myself into the childish mindset that I was hunting for fugitives. I heard a giggle and brushed away the bushes and managed to sting myself on some nettles. There I found a giggling child; the first fugitive had been caught. I then delved deeper into the forest, and a very conspicuous trap was laid out, a string, tied between two trees. I knew that someone was nearby and heard a rustle. I expected to find a small child hiding, but instead found an injured kitten. I shouted out to my friends, who all came out of their ingenious hiding spots, found by mastering the game over many years. They all peered at the kitten, and the fast runner of us, charged towards our parents sitting in the shade. They rushed over and applied the bandages they had stored up to the kitten. We pleaded and pleaded, but none of the parents let us keep the sweet animal in our grasps. As we all went home in our minibus, our parents asked the driver to stop off at the vet, and we all got off, and explained the situation to him. He swiftly nodded and took the animal away. We, as young children all started bawling, but quickly we got over it, considering we had the minute attention span of small children, and began playing tag among our houses for hours, crushing the parents’ hopes of having clean white clothes without the need of a wash. I then woke up, realizing it was not 2012 but 2020, in the middle of a lockdown, and quickly got dressed for another day of online school. I wished for the days of childhood back.
The Virus, a poem by Aditi Dinesh, 11
Aditi Dinesh, 11Ottawa, Canada The Virus Aditi Dinesh, 11 It’s claiming life after life As it reaches its peak Let’s save them from this plight Or there won’t be next week They’re working night after night Trying to find a cure Victims fight with all their might Until it all becomes a blur Folks are staying inside their home Wishing they could go outside It’s good weather to roam But they have to stay inside Everything is closed Except for the stores That people need the most Everyone is bored It’s going on a rampage Infecting everything Boredom becomes rage As they wait for their things Stress erupts on the nation As more people lose their life It’s replaced by determination To help people fight They want to help our people And we thank them for it Especially the old and feeble They’re more likely to get it There is hope on the horizon Together we must endure Doctors are on a mission They’re going to find a cure
