My eyes crave for the cars that whizzed past the roads
The little kids that played tag in the streets
The couples that sashayed past me, hand in hand.
My ears desire that hoot, that giggle, that laugh that clothed the atmosphere in beautiful apparel
Yet now, the silence dawns on me
Pushing me down like a weight on my shoulders
Like a knee on my neck, blocking my breathing
I can’t breath
The streets stand bare
No car, No child, No couple
Empty
And The tumble weed gracefully makes its way down the road
The space is HIS
Unhindered
Like the intruder that has attacked our respiratory system
The inflation that has risen in our economy
A minute virus, visible under only a microscope yet has struck so much fear in people’s lives
Rich or poor
Able or disabled
We are all subjected to its Will
Fear.
News of Covid-19 cases escalating is all we hear from any broadcaster
Unfathomable deaths are what we perceive
The desire to help wells deep within us but we’ve been rendered helpless
Cooped safely in our houses, we are not safe from our minds
Despair twirls in our minds
Fear of contracting The Killer nestles in our hearts
Hunger strikes families
Famine lurks in
And my artistic mind yearns for something to shed in some light
However due to the pollution for this Fiend
All I produce is destroyed
By expressions of hurt, heartache, despair.
My hope has died
My peace falters
The only option I have is to look out my window
Watch the darkness unfold further beyond the horizon
And hope that this time the quote will come as true
” the darkest hour comes before light sips in and dispels it.”
Amanda Mkandla
