There is death here
But then there has always been
Except now you can very nearly
Although not quite
Smell it on the wind
I’m sitting this one out
In the middle classes
In a green and pleasant land
And not a shabby urban flat
There’s a garden and some rooms
The birds still sing
The grass still grows
We are fucking irrelevant
And we didn’t even know
I mean I guess we did but
We never really thought about it
I mean I certainly knew
That we just don’t matter
I’d simply forgotten
That nature is deadly
I soothe myself with
Documentaries,
About nature
Knowing that
It is the bastard responsible
In the middle of it all
I play guitar quite badly
I buy myself a new notebook
So I can write earnest words
As if I am truly at risk and suffering
I am worried
We are running low on crisps
And biscuits
It is keeping me awake at night
I now look at my expensive hand bag, differently
Or at least one day I will
I went to the supermarket
And I think that makes me brave
I don’t get my groceries delivered
Like some
Although there is the milk
I am positively a saint
I waste toilet paper
Which to us in the middle classes
Is the ultimate sign
Of our superiority
These days.
Didn’t I make good choices?
I understand viral load too
This virus is the great equaliser
I can’t say it enough
There is no dust here
Except the bits I haven’t cleaned myself
But I will clean
Right after my online yoga class
And the heat
Comes from the central heating
And the extra sweater I bought
Just before this thing broke
I will reduce my sweater buying habits
Because I don’t understand supply chains
And I am not hungry
Dear God, I am clever
It is proving I am more equal than you
Somewhere there in the darkness, there is a light
Because I can afford to pay for it
I have missed the lesson
I did not hear it
It is not this virus that will equalise
But it might be the next, or the one after that
I look at my stockpile of sunscreen
One day I will die from something horrible
In the comfort of an A and E ward
Surrounded by bravery I cannot imagine
And my skin will be super smooth
A Tuesday Latte 