Holiday

I wrote this poem many years ago in response to the Syrian refugee crisis and after reading Home by Warsan Shire.

you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat,
unless the water is safer than the land

My poem is not going to rock the poetry world but I remembered it this week because of what is happening to those poor people trying to cross the Channel to get to the UK. 

HOLIDAY

We’re going on holiday
Mum, Dad and I.
On a sailing boat, across the sea
To an island, nearby.

We’ve a backpack each,
I’ve packed my Teddy
Why’s Mum crying?
Everything’s ready.

Dad says we’re leaving late at night
Cause that is much more fun.
It’s so cold, look – the stars are out
Why are they starting to run?

There’s many other people here,
are they all coming too?
No-one looks that happy,
I really need the loo.

That’s not a sailing boat at all,
but a rubber blow-up thing.
It looks like the toy I have in my bath
where I splash and play and sing.

The sea is dark, it looks so big
The waves are very high.
Mum and Dad are quiet.

I’m scared. I don’t know why.

Strange men shouting
Children crying
In the boat, now!
Someone is lying.

I need the toilet, Mum says wait
I want my bed and toys
I shouldn’t be up this late, I think
I’m just a little boy.

Men shoving
Ocean, heaving.

Boat is full.

Boat is leaving.

Wee runs straight down my leg.
Tears fill my eyes.
It’s raining now, I’m so cold
Inside, it’s warm and dry.

Mum wades in the water,
her trousers are now all wet.
‘Mum! Mum! I shout
I'm not having much fun yet.

Dad grabs me.
Screaming, I kick and shout.
My backpack falls off,
Ted falls out.

The boat’s now full, we’re in the dark
Silence fills the air.
Is this a holiday we’re on?
I want my teddy bear.

Boat is leaking
Mum is screaming
Ted is gone
Am I dreaming?

RIP

Oh No. Bojo has the Covo.

CoVo world moves at a rate of knots. Things change with a blink.

A few days ago, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was hospitalised in St Thomas' Hospital with 'persistent' symptoms of coronavirus. He's spent the last two nights in ICU and apparently is in 'good spirits.' 

Bojo's a no go. He's in Tommo's laid low with the CoVo. So now, we've got Dommo leading the Toro's.*

I'm no fan of Bojo but I wish him a full recovery. In this unheralded time, we need stability, even if it does come in the form of Boris Johnson. The irony of him receiving the very best of NHS care; care that his party has systematically stripped away from many others less fortunate is glaringly apparent under the world spotlight.

What isn't changing swiftly is the Husband's recovery from suspected CoVo. It's been 18 days since he fell ill and he is 6kg thinner and too weak to walk out the front door and do a socially distant stroll to the end of our road. Although he is improving slowly, I have never, in the 25 years I've known him, ever seen him this debilitated.

And he is one of the lucky ones, to have had a 'mild' case of CoVo, if that is indeed what he had.

I hope that it was.

Because going through it once was enough.

*I have been watching a lot of Kath and Kim