13th May 2020
Lockdown is having a very odd effect on people. Anger, frustration, depression. In some ways it doesn’t make sense given we have all the creature comforts that we need and much more entertainment than previous generations ever had. But I have found it frustrating. Perhaps it is the lack of choice or lack of freedom, but something has been taken away from me. I read somewhere that what lockdown is proving is how much we actually need human contact and there feels something to that idea. Although overtly I don’t show that I am missing friends, somewhere in my sub conscious I miss that visual and physical contact that is different to what my family offer me.
I read a beautiful poem recently prompted by a lady I met who explained to me that she is coping with lockdown by taking the opportunity to learn a poem a week. There is something very noble and touching about this idea and it really resonates with me. This is the poem which although very simple, has a huge amount of depth.
Leisure by WH Davies
WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Curiosity and the rascal 