Tomorrow marks the anniversary of lockdown and my 340 post on my website, quite a list considering I started to write this time last year.  For this poem I have taken few lines from one of my first writes called The Tale Of 2020. Just a warning it is quite long but then it has been a long year. 

The tale of Covid 19, what a story to be told
When nature said enough's enough and put the world on hold
Mother Earth took a break, to revitalise and renew
Taught us all a lesson, to give respect when it is due

Along came a virus almost impossible to beat
The world paused for a while and considered its defeat
One year ago today, all our lives were turned upside down
Who could have believed back then, we would still be in lockdown

Do you remember the time when social distancing was new
The Thursdays we clapped for key workers and heroes in blue
We saw a nurse despairing at empty shelves in the shop
Pleading for stockpiling of toilet rolls and pasta to stop

We walked for an hour a day but were not allowed to meet
We could not hug loved ones or stop for a catch up in the street
We lived in isolation, nowhere to go and nothing to do
Essential travel only, advised to work from home too

The shops installed plastic screens and two metre distance rules
Most children stayed at home due to the part closure of schools
We marked one hundred days in lockdown in our new normal way
The pathway out was mapped, we had our own independence day

The easing of restrictions meant new rules came into place
To allow more freedom there was a requirement to track and trace
Celebrations for some when we were allowed out and about
We enjoyed holidays abroad and eating out to help out

Do you remember the days before we all wore masks on our face
When the government briefing message changed to hands, face, space
Children returned to school and we thought the end was in sight
Good news was short lived, we realised the future was not that bright

With infection rates on the rise, we faced second wave fears
Soon came the rule of six and locking down in numbered tiers
Christmas celebrations were on and off, then more off than on
Bad news meant another lockdown at the start of 2021

Back to home schooling for children, a new respect for teachers found
The route out was planned when the news started to turn around
Promise of better days came with the Covid vaccination
Positivity, optimism and hope swept across the nation

One step at a time we move onward, the end date has been set
Today we look back over a year we never will forget 
This pandemic came to test us with much sadness, loss and pain
We need to keep on the right path to find joy and peace again

The tale of Covid 19 and the message it will send
Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end