Author's Statement
I started writing this piece as an optional assignment in my seventh grade English class. It was an end of the year assignment. In this piece, I have tried to describe some vivid memories and experiences over the one and a half years during which the COVID-19 virus has put a break on my life. The pandemic has been a turning point in my life. I still have many more experiences to gain in life but I doubt I will ever be able to forget this.
A Note from the Editor
These poems were submitted to Stone Soup blog as a 40 page collection. I have decided to publish them in weekly installments, breaking them up by the seasons Paridhi established. The artwork I have chosen to accompany each installment was not selected by the author and was originally published in Stone Soup.
Part II
Spring 2020
Fortunate
Everybody says we have smiling faces,
My father flew back to India just in time.
Before the US had an outbreak of cases,
My father flew back to India just in time.
New Norms
Our dictionary developed.
Face mask, hand sanitizer, social distancing
Were the new normal.
Our Prime-Minister, Mr. Modi,
Was all over the news,
Mann-Ki-Baat is what he came up with
Fascinating me,
With community claps,
For boosting confidence;
With the lighting of candles,
As a symbol of hope.
Irony of the Situation
I am having quite a time,
We are all at home.
My father and I,
We spend a lot of time together.
But when I went to the terrace the other day,
The roads suddenly felt quiet as a graveyard.
Then I realized—
Not everybody must be so blessed as me.
The daily wage earners suffering from no work, no food.
They and their families must be struggling,
Day after day,
Night after night.
Loss
The tickets my father had booked for us,
To return to the US,
Were canceled.
But the money we paid for the tickets
Did not find their way back to us.
Not so bad after all
It is not so bad.
My entire big family is safe,
We are not completely locked up at home,
Venturing outside the house is possible,
Though for necessary goods only.
And I can play with my father too,
For it has been a month since he returned.
Birthday
The lockdown rules are less strict.
Number of Covid cases is under control.
It is my uncle’s birthday.
Giving him a surprise,
Is what runs in my mind.
The idea of seeing him after so many days
Makes me dance like a free bird.
So all stuffed with goodies and a huge cake,
We arrive at his building.
Not allowed to enter it,
We celebrate his birthday on the street.
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