POEM: 'COVID war'

WOULD we have believed we had this in store?
Into a world we are thrust, a world at war.
Invasion from an infection, from Wuhan its source,
A formidable enemy, an invisible force.
The battle front, A&E and hospital wards,
Ventilators, oxygen, our artillery and swords.
Doctors, nurses and NHS staff our soldiers,
Adult Social Care with the world on its shoulders.
Care homes slogging to protect the frail,
We will not be defeated, we will prevail.
The ‘fallen’ gasping alone in a hospital bed,
We listen with fear as we count the dead.
Loved ones suffer, such heartache and pain,
Funeral of one grieving, it seems inhumane.
No-one can escape, even those in high office,
Neighbours, famous, rich and now even Boris.
Schools are closed and teachers set tasks,
PPE is scarce, who has fluid repellent masks?
Professions who battle, on Thursdays we applaud,
Teenagers online but otherwise, ‘I’m bored’,
Get up, get dressed, homework, ‘what’s the point?’,
The new home guard volunteers we appoint.
A microbe has brought down mankind, it has tricked him,
Wimbledon, Glastonbury, Olympics are all victim.
Football it has all ended, for Liverpool dreams too,
30 years of hope, brought down by ‘a flu’.
But we have all slowed down and positive we find, 
Commuting and rushing for most left behind.
Skype, WhatsApp and Zoom are renewed,
Time with loved ones, for some welcome solitude.
Of the things we can’t have, we learn to let go,
Take joy in simple things, we will hopefully grow.
Parties, pubs, restaurants and gatherings adieu,
Like living in a movie, Is it real? Is it true?
Hitchcock, Herbert, Wells, would be proud,
Of a story like this from them, we’d have bowed.
Social distancing, lock down are our battle cry,
We must slow own its spread, we must unify.
So, to all who read this to you I implore,
Don’t mingle or mix or go out of the door.
We will win this fight together, by staying at home,
Social isolation, wash your hands, do not roam.
Our economy is wounded, by our viral foe,
We will have to rebuild, ‘how?’, ‘I don’t know’.
Humans can beat this and wake up one day, 
But the world that is different with Covid away,
We will beat this together, so do not lose heart.
By standing together (two metres apart)