A Project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, University of Plymouth, and Nottingham Trent University.
By Giles Goodland
It is May or April, I lost track. Buses
run mostly empty. The bee-loud cars are scarce.
Men draw their toddlers to the edge of the pavement,
the old raise collars, pull scarves across their faces.
I sidestep dog walkers and their leads.
By Evon Wheeler
I hadn’t know loneliness until a stranger said hello
for months now, I’m met with averted eyes,
people swiftly crossing the road, to avoid all human contact.
empty blue hands line bleak pavements,
as tendril arms grab forward, the weeds are taking over
a smile, disguised behind a masked face,
muffling their greeting
By Rajan Sharma
Millions of people have now had it done, starting
With those who were high risk, including my mum;
At her booked appointment she rolled up her sleeve
Quick jab, then a rest, and then she could leave;
By John Rogers John Rogers is an English teacher who studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University. He has been published in Ink, Sweat and Tears and Allegro. The poem’s context: Last December, I was listening to a podcast about the winter solstice and how poets had interacted with ‘the shortestContinue reading “Booking Requests for the Summer Solstice”
By Alex Clare I’m an NHS worker (non-clinical) based in Brighton at the moment, but consider London home. I knew I wanted to write this poem almost a year ago in the first weeks of lockdown one, but didn’t get round to forming a coherent structure for it or putting words on paper for quiteContinue reading “Year of the Rat”
By Chris Palmer
she was well-known
as a super spreader
when we found ourselves
locked down
By Ella Walsworth-Bell
In the last six months
I have been illegal
I have touched other people
Not skin-to-skin
Not breath-to-warm-breath
But illegal, notwithstanding
Four times in all
By Stephen Kingsnorth
What is this monster on the screen,
come bouncing round with knobs in place,
as though arrived from outer space,
an orbiter, unknown, unseen?
Dennis Andrew Aguinaldo An Offer Milk Pandemics I, Moon Dennis Andrew S. Aguinaldo teaches a course called “Science and Technology in Literature” at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. He blogs at tekstong bopis. I listen to the oldest poems and a good number of what we have now as shaped breathing. Lamentably, tooContinue reading “Three Poems”
By Janet Thomas
Selfish ruthless invader,
Sneaking in covertly
Attacking wickedly,
By isolation and loneliness.