Corona. A poem by Michael Cullen

The world has been flipped upside down,
A virus has come to show us what we need,
Dublin City has become a ghost town.
While the people are home the world can breathe,
Formerly overworked and depleted by corporate greed.

Working from home or studying for school,
People are struggling and uncertainty is rife,
While no more than 5K is the rule,
People are being confronted with their own life.
Are we happy? What is truly worthwhile?
Is it making money? Working ourselves to the bone?
We have been tricked by a media expert in beguile,
Social media brings us together, but we’ve never been more alone.

Health care workers putting their lives on the line,
While Leo congratulates them on a job well done,
Cutting their wages he thought was fine,
While giving tax Benefits to multinationals for fun.
Gardai working tirelessly for communities,
Frontline staff keeping us safe from harm,
While government cuts has brought them to their knees.

‘When we return to normal’ what the fuck does that mean?
Keep destroying the planet In search of green?
Thousands sleeping on the street,
Thousands struggling to make ends meet.
But all is fine we’re being told,
As long as Fine Gael keep their cronies in gold,
While ordinary Irish people cast out to the cold.

What is it that we truly value?
Adidas? Calvin Klein? River Island?
People all chasing what is shiney and new,
And in the end left chasing the newest brand.
Stepping over those who dwell in city doorways,
as they shop in brown Thomas and the cities cafes.

Britain and America constantly starting war,
All that money for destruction but can’t feed their poor,
We’ve had viruses many’s a time before.
But they take action for corona I wonder why?
Oh yes, because from this virus the rich too can die.

Let’s reevaluate how we live,
Instead of take, take, take learn to give,
We can decide our own destiny,
And make this world equal and free.

………..

Up-coming young poet making use of quarantine to write. Can be found on Instagram where I feature some of my poems – mikeyc1997.

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