Interesting Times

[ruthct21]

RUTH CT - INTERESTING TIMES

I should have been in Austria for the snow
I couldn't go
Everywhere was in lock-down
Even the ski-runs were out of bounds

Sadly, the British SF Convention was next
Cancelled by text
No talks, no films, no late-night conversations
Just a virtual session of best book presentations

I was really looking forward to seeing our Twin Town
But, inevitably, France was still locked down
Our store-cupboard fare
Just cannot compare
With our gourmet dreams
Of real French cuisine

No Mayor's Day merrymaking in the locked Town Hall
The robes hang unoccupied, face to the wall
Have they been steam-cleaned of any infection?
Can they be restored to their old-time perfection?

Now is a time of obsessive cancellation
An orgy of refunds and late compensation
Social life transmitted through Skype and Zoom
While snacking in pyjamas in the sitting room

The skies are clearing, pollution falls by the day
Animals reclaim the cities while we're locked away
We never asked to live with a deadly disease
Interesting times? Oh! please don't tease

Ruth Coleman-Taylor April 2020