Poetic Insights

On the eve of 2020, in New Year Reflections, I looked back on a difficult 2019 and asked: “What might I be called upon to face this year?” I could not have imagined what lay ahead – not only for me, but for the entire world.

Living through the coronavirus pandemic is both a global and deeply personal experience. The world is afraid. With many countries now in lockdown, humanity is collectively facing the loss of freedom: the loss of freedom to move; the loss of freedom to plan; the loss of freedom simply not to be afraid.

My individual story sits somewhere among billions of others. There are people who will remember these months as the very worst time of their lives, when they fell seriously ill or faced the loss of a loved one – perhaps even both. There are families forced apart when they need one…