The church bells sound,
Their routine remains unaltered.
Marking off the hours,
Though everything else has faltered.
Chalkboards slowly gather dust,
Empty swings creak with the wind.
Eeriness seeps in and spreads,
As freedoms sharply rescind.
Empty buses hurtle past,
Winding down empty streets.
Where people used to gather,
Remain now only empty seats.
People wait in lines,
Keeping distance like they’re told.
Nervous glances passed about,
Attempts to protect the old.
A silent killer lurks among us,
Against whom a war is being waged.
But this enemy is elusive,
He refuses to be caged.
So the people all stay locked inside,
They hunker down and pray.
They cling to hope and watch and wait,
For this killer to be slayed.
This slowed world will spin again,
The gears will find their traction.
At some point ‘most everything
Will return to action.
But how it will look
Is yet unclear.
What will remain
After all this fear?
The future thus far,
Remains undefined.
It’s up to us,
And our collective mind…