The Poetry Kit
HOME POETRY KIT COURSES SUBMISSIONS CITN NEWSLETTER BOOKSHOP BLOG
POETRY IN THE PLAGUE YEAR
Poems written during the Coronavirus Outbreak 2020
How to submit - Back to Contents
Bill Cotter Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia. Bill Cotter has had poetry published in
Australia, New Zealand, New Deli in India, England and Wales. He has won a number of literary awards,
including the Melbourne Shakespeare Society's sonnet competition.
Two Poems 22nd April 2020 An Almost Ordinary Saturday Morning 19th May 2020 Silence
Poem completed on 22nd April 2020 AN ALMOST ORDINARY SATURDAY MORNING The village yawns, Settles into its slow, wake up routine. Autumn leaves drift and rub across the lawn And the sun inches out from the trees. Toddlers, already energetic as mini tug
boats, Nudge grandparents along the street. Two boys, up and about early, Are at work teasing a passing girl. A young man reaches up from his wheel
chair, Straining to post a letter. Well dressed magpies are purposefully
pursuing worms. Ragamuffin sparrows are squabbling on a
park bench And a black, leather smooth cat Slinks out from a corner, stops, looks, Before slouching off. On the hotel roof, A satellite dish harvests news of little
interest, Spreads it through the half empty bar And, seated at his post, The barman mechanically opens the paper, Flicks from the sports page To something called the Coronavirus, Scans the headline, Skips back to news of the cancelled races, Confines the paper to the rubbish bin And the village continues its slow, wake up
routine.
SILENCE There is the silence, Taut with expectation, Where lovers gaze through
trembling candle light, Where criminals, Seated in public view, Watch the slow returning
parade of a jury, Where soldiers reach the lip
of the trench, Peer into the scarlet splashed
dawn And pray that the hated
command will never come. There is the silence Of old men Bent before the descending
coffins of their wives, The electric silence Of children Opening presents on Christmas
Day, The silence, knife sharp, Where a woman Sees her x ray marred with
condemning spots And where Partners, pretending
indifference, Wait to hear the results of
their coronavirus test.
|