RajahJun

All hell broke loose at the start of the year when the Covid-19 virus spread like wildfire all over the globe.  In February it hit close to home - the Philippines. The viral infections started in Wuhan, China last December 2019, but I only read it on social media then.  Various posts said it was scary but I brushed it aside since it was far away.  When the dreaded virus reached Philippine shores, people began wearing masks. The scene was foreboding.  I still didn't wear a mask because local news said that the few infections were isolated cases. But things turned deadly serious when news from around the world reported that infected people were suffering and dying by the hundreds. Here the numbers began to surge. By mid-March, the Philippine president announced a Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine dubbed as ECQ which seemed unreal. The government sugar-coated the word - lockdown - so it would be more acceptable to the public. By the next couple of months, the ECQ...

We went about our normal way, And heard the news of death so far away. We didn’t mind because it was not here, But alas it’s near and we tremble in fear. When the grim reaper started to win, 'Twas medieval quarantine that locked us in. Panic, strife and hunger lie on the fringes, Boots were needed to toughen the hinges. We wore masks to mask our masks, Wishing to live and finish our daily tasks. Two arms length we needed not to reach out, But served as our measure not to freak out. Scrubs showed us our new heroes, Fighting the unseen to stave off sorrows. How can the enemy do this all? Without a big stick yet it stood tall. This was not the Crown we all would bow, Unwilling subjects forced to make a vow. Will it return to normal we don’t know? Or will it be a whole new show.                 JRF