Reflecting on a year of COVID restrictions in Scotland
Remembering
the wave of disbelief
and the stunned silence
The grief
and lament
The resignation
and helplessness
The shock of furlough
- surplus to requirement
in an institution
focused on survival
Remembering
the mounting fear
as death tolls rose
The longing to be able to do more
than make a difference
by staying home
and the low grade anxiety
that began low in the belly on waking
and lodged in the throat on sleeping
Remembering
the deniers
and the conspiracists
the pontificators
and the optimists
all of whom made the work of scientists
and out of their depth governments
all the more difficult
Remembering
the hope snatched away
by a second wave
crushing already beleaguered services
affecting a less compliant populous
being rekindled
by the whisper
of vaccine potential
into a hope reborn
Oh to share the indictment of Maya Angelou
“When we know better, we do better”
Sadly, I wonder...
What have we learned?
And will our learning make any difference?
Will it make a difference
to the marginalised
to those on the edges
to “the least of these”
whom we are called to love and to serve?
Or, as is often the way,
Will those in power
tell the story
through rose tinted glasses
of a nation that fought
and won the fight
papering over the cracks
of dissension and division
of incompetence and pride
ignoring the long shadows that remain
trumpeting resilience
and “building back better”
as the tools with which to move forward?
Remembering...
And sitting with the grief
so that the loss and sacrifice
of so many
and the ongoing trauma and suffering
is not swept aside
as we move forward
but is carefully woven
into the fabric
of our communities
not only as dark threads
but also as bright and vivid streaks
startling reminders
held aloft
carried with us
into the compassionate future
that we craft together.
