By John Davison
I used to be a hermit, on that lifestyle I was keen
But now everybody’s at it, thanks to wretched quarantine.
It’s no longer cause for comment, I meet a new one every week!
There are hordes of hermits everywhere, but once we formed a clique.
I’d wander through the ancient woods, traverse the windswept moors,
Live off nuts and bilberries, gathered on all-fours.
I’d sometimes go out scrumping, one judge called me a looter,
Now I’m going to be a rebel, a Cannon Street commuter!
John Davison is a London-born writer of parodies, poems and lyrics, often on topical issues. He admires unusual puns and wordplay and maintains a Twitter account https://twitter.com/sidsaucer
This poem was written from southeast London during lockdown when United Kingdom residents were strongly discouraged from making unnecessary journeys or meeting other people.
Haha! I love the way you capture the shifting meanings of hermit and rebel in this upside-down time.