Remote learning has given pupils a chance to be creative and reflect on the current global pandemic.
Fourth Formers produced some powerful poems that captured their response to lockdown restrictions and hope.
Lockdown by Edward T.
We are experiencing pain.
We are experiencing grief.
But most of all, we are experiencing difference.
Screens and buttons are now our closest friends
Our school playground is non-existent
And we don’t like it.
And we hate it,
And we loathe it.
Our boredom is like a canyon, it stretches
and stretches, an unending void of discomfort.
And we are annoyed, tired and nagged.
However
we are together.
You, I our family and pets, we are
here for support.
People are unified despite separation, people are
together even though we are behind walls.
Our walls are our home, prison and
security.
They keep us safe, but keep
us in.
And although this pandemic is horrible, it will go and pass.
Eventually.
Eventually.
Eventually.
If we stay strong.
Inside and Outside by Juliette H.
This virus spread
But officials said don’t worry.
This virus spread
But officials said it would pass.
This virus kills.
Now officials say lockdown.
Just a short time ago,
People bustled and jostled
Scrambling to get a place on the train.
But now,
Empty trains drift aimlessly by
While we are left stranded, at home.
Just a short time ago,
The streets burst with life and laughter
The shouts as people crammed themselves into shops.
But now,
The streets are lonely and bare
The shops now shout and cry as if they may
never open again.
Just a short time ago,
The roads raged with commotion from dawn to dusk
Horns and engines filled the cloudy sky.
But now,
A stillness has swept over them
like a cold, dark shadow.
The country is asleep
The country is dead
But that is just its outward appearance.
From inside comes an explosion of noise.
An array of peculiar sounds.
From the angry arguments about:
‘What do you mean there’s no flour,
I bought some yesterday’
to the laughs and giggles as families become whole again.
As the bustling world grinds to a halt,
People stop.
Pause
and reconnect.
Gleeful chatter fills the lines
As delighted grannies spread their gossip to their loved ones
Words like ‘did you know’ and ‘have you seen’
Constantly clatter through the lines
As they relish in the fact of having someone to talk to.
Neighbours who have never met
Take time to share their recipes
And share their daily news over the garden hedge.
So yes the world has changed
Yes our lives have stopped
Yes there is uncertainty
But maybe it’s for the better
Not the worse.
From ‘Lockdown’ by George J.
Some lay in coffins dead
Some lay in hospital beds
Some lay in the bed at home
Some lay in the sun
Some lay in the rain
Some say they’re bored.
But
The world can use this extra time
The world can use this to catch a breath
The world can use this time to become more divine
The world can use this time to steer away from its death.
People can use this time to reflect on life
People can use this time to experiment with new things
People can use this time to get to know their neighbours
People can use this time to look at the world differently.
From ‘Lockdown’ by Jacob W.
Reflection
Repetition
Reconciliation
My Coronavirus poem by Emily R.
The once busy streets
Now lay bare,
An ominous sheet of sadness and grief.
Birds sing their joyful tunes,
People stand at their windows
Scared that if they open their doors
To freedom
That they will become just another statistic
On an update of the government’s graph.
Shelves lay empty.
Waiting to be filled with fresh bread or eggs,
But nothing comes.
The only sounds are two desperate shoppers
fighting over the last carton of milk.
Shocked onlookers don’t dare to intervene
For fear that they might get too close.
Faces are barely visible under layers of protection.
Masks, goggles, face shields
Guard customers from putting their lives at risk
And for what?
Death never stops moving
Spreading around the word in a dash
Targeting those who are more vulnerable.
We will do anything to avoid
This harsh and pricey cost.
We put our trust in the NHS
To save us from slipping away
To save us from leaving our friends and family behind
To not let this virus win.
A sense of community lifts our spirits
New-found hobbies keep us entertained
We see our neighbours in a new light
And flowers and birds and warmth give us assurance
That this will not last forever
And one day we can return to ‘normality’
And see our friends and family some more
And reminisce on a hard time where we pulled through
Together, as friends,
As family,
As a community,
As one.
