Page 13 - Surrey Anthology

I WILL READ
I lay, heavy breathing, racing to understand and,
It starts, the exhausting, existential enquiry,
I will read.
And, again, tomorrow I will read.
I glance at my shelf and,
There they are, the faces that
gaze at me,
I choose which book it will be
today and,
It’s the red and black covered
one, the one that stares,
I pull out my bookmark and,
I see it is the orange and
flowery one, the one from the shop in Istanbul, My mind wonders there and,
I’m back in the clouds amid more
noise,
The words shout out too to me,
taking me back, and,
All that had blurred must be
re-read,
I forget it all and,
My self is but small and sweet,
It’s just me and the words,
half-way down the page and,
The pages amass into many,
The pages turn themselves,
I lay, heavy breathing, racing to
understand and,
It starts, the exhausting,
existential enquiry.
QUARANTINE
, Gradually and then all at once, it was here, Arriving, they say, as it had done before, To reclaim the streets and place down its silence, Interjecting with words through the radio channels: "Isolation" and "Pandemic" crackling through the familiar songs;
And the sun rose higher when it heard the news, Dizzying and blissful, seeping every evening more into the night, With what once had set now sawing, Painting the yellow-hued backdrop for the cloaks of black and white, The famous duo performing this summer’s show; Life and Death commenced their dance to shake the emptying town, Yet the quiet character of Love finally earned its starring role, Recalling its fond stories of truth, patience and might,
So, stepping back and recoiling was a new motion in the script, A mute way of saying the words: "Do stay well, my friend"; With that, loneliness fell, shook and hurt as the plot was revealed:
People had finally learnt that ‘togetherness’ was: Not physical at all.
Deep breathes ensued, again and again, Resting after Earth’s longest, most frantic spell; Before long, it was May - all had passed in a daze, And the birds took up their duty to stand louder than before, Spreading the message from high and low that, “Everyone! The love of life has won!”
YASMIN ISABELLA AYTURE DEPARMENT OF HOSPITAILITY, TOURISM & EVENTS