Diana Hills 

Crowborough East Sussex UK 

I started writing poems last September to distract myself from chronic facial pain as a result of dental trauma last April.  I haven't had anything published but have not submitted as I'm a beginner. During lockdown I wrote six poems for a group organised by the Head of the local arts group on paintings. These were well received with minor criticisms I learnt from.  Otherwise I'm a member of an on line writing course where we're encouraged to start a project. I'm planning a short novel but don't know how far I'll get. I exchange poems with friends and a sister who lives locally but we're hardly the Brontes of Crowborough !  I'm retired, and previously worked in HR. 

Poem written 9-16th June 2020 

Thoughts on lock down

In dribbles and drabbles, the lockdown is ending,

Oldies allowed out to sniff the cold breeze,

Frippery shops now open for spending,

On line daters free to meet for a squeeze!

A few girls and boys now back at school,  

Standing in bubbles alone during break, 

No friend to play with, keep to the rule, 

Two metres apart, for everyone’s sake!   

The shielded no longer stare at the wall,  

Minutes like hours, life put on hold,

Their long silence broken, now they can call,

friends who’ve forgotten, because they got old.

Though claps to the carers fade in the past, 

They’re still kindly caring for those left behind.

Drivers, posties, cleaners working as fast,

The furloughed and jobless yearning for some kind of grind!

Grans and grandads can now give a hug,

To children much missed in a lonely old world,                                        

But locked to their screens, they just give a shrug,   

Over pings, bangs, and zaps, Gran’s voice can’t be heard!

The news still filled with impending doom,

The nicer world promised now fading from view,

Chatting, meeting, we can do it on Zoom, 

So how to keep friends in a world gone askew! 

Lockdown is ending, our lives became changed,

We now have to think in ways that are new. 

But flee you dark doubts, the plague has now waned,

And let’s at least give thanks we’ve a future to view!