Poetry - September 2020

Back To The Office (Part 2)

So now there's more people in the office building
Additional rules and regulations come into play
All designed with everyone's safety in mind
With the emphasis on allowing work through the day
In all of the communal areas such as the lifts
A face covering will need to be worn
And only take it off when you're at your desk
Or face the wrath of those inn the building who will scorn
There's also more sanitiser and wipes everywhere
With more distance placed between you all
So that it's still possible to work with more community
And yet have a really safe space - your office, to call
It's certainly been better for my mental health
Not feeling so along during the working day
As everyone adjusts to what is their own new normal
We can only hope that all the current pain will go away.

(Certainly the office I'm allowed to go in has been made as safe as possible, with additional reassurances that it's not where you work that determines your status, it's how you are performing. That's pretty good to be fair.)

Booking In Advance

As someone who likes to get my train travel cheap
I'm used to booking everything in advance
But for those who want to do things as they happen
It can spoil their spontaneous romance
It's a case of adjusting and thinking more about
Where you might want to go on a Sunday
If it's a popular place, agree during the week
And so you can turn up and be admitted without delay
There's also a case of making sure you have somewhere
Which will do you a nice Sunday afternoon meal
It's a case of it might be busy anyway
But with less space, booking in advance is ideal
It's also getting that holiday you want to have next year
And thinking about booking it all a year away
So that when the time comes and you're ready to go
No last minute panicking or anything in the way
It's part of the life we'll all have to lead
In order that we can maintain some form of normality
But I'm used to booking in advance anyway
So actually for me it's just that reality.

(Although admittedly less spontaneous, booking in advance is something I'm used to, so it just feels normal to book meals out and tables, places to go, and travel tickets and so on. But for those not so, it can be unnerving, I admit.)

Football Without Fans Is Nothing

The empty stadia feel so empty
There's no noise or roar from the stands
It just feels all so artificial and unreal
Not having players hear the fans' demands
Get stuck in! Get that ball cut out!
And shoot from distance to score a blinder
There's a real sense of emptiness everywhere
As no noise is anywhere either
There's no real sense of being together
Watching from a television screen
You can't even feel the same in a pub
As inevitably distancing won't alow you to scream
So you watch at home, all sanitised and false
It doesn't substitute being there
Football without fans is nothing
And I don't know how much we can all bear.

(All sports that have loyal fans are feeling the same way I am sure, but it hits home for me when Manchester City are at home and I'm not there to cheer them on..)

The Sense of Being Nowhere In Particular

Every street looks the same
Suburbia attempts to look so perfect
It's row after row of houses
With the gardens in varous states
A real sense of deja vu
Haven't you seen this all before
As you pass by going onwards
And not feeling any sense of belonging
Welcome to nowhere in particular
Where you can be so anonymous
You can mean nothing to no one
So you'll fit right in with everyone else
We all just do our thing on our own
With no interactions ever needed
Apart from those in the local shops
Where we have to talk to someone.

(So much of suburbia can feel like that - especially at present.)

Playing Out Cat Haiku

Brian plays outside
Tabby cat is walking past
Cue a hiss and snarl!

(Brian the cat does get rather possessive when it comes to territory, let me tell you!)