Brother Richard Hendrick is a Capuchin Franciscan priest-friar, living and working in Ireland. He teaches Christian meditation – and has written some beautiful poetry too, including his poem, Lockdown, which has gone viral during the current Pandemic.
Lockdown by Brother Richard:
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Thanks for turning poetic, since so many aspects of this pandemic are beyond words even as we must grapple with understanding the explicit facts which occupy the mind.
Here is a poem I wrote a couple weeks ago as things were unfolding in the U. S. so rapidly & disturbingly. My university suddenly migrated online over 24 hours. Here in San Diego, where we are used to the outdoor lifestyle year round, we went quickly to shelter in place with the reporting of the very first community spread case. Disorienting & kind of surreal, even for a longtime mindfulness practitioner like me.
SkyFall: March 2020
Each morning
I wake to sun
streaks on wood floor.
Look forward to
a hummingbird, or two,
flying past my high window.
At breakfast, the tang
of grapefruit. Bittersweet
coffee wafts through.
Then I remember:
the pandemic is here!
Scan the newly terrible
News. Recoil. Parse
the daily stats for clues.
What should I brace for ?
Where is it ? My doorknob ?
Fear is everywhere.
What I took
for granted: carefree
hikes. Thronging
at the Farmer’s Market
to buy mangoes.
Classroom: sheer joy of
students lit with discovery.
Sleep unmarred by
worry. Everything
gets broken
when safety is lost.
The new abnormal
is filled with grief,
solitude, rage. Hearing
how they knew. Failed
to act on our behalf.
Still do. Endanger
frontline responders:
selfless & brave, our
elders, the vulnerable
among us -across
the globe, right
here. Virus knows
no borders. We are one
species. Exquisite
tiny nest in the Ficus tree,
back door, is empty
today. 2 new hummingbirds
flown to seek their own
nectar. I look out
on empty streets. Bask
in the quiet I dreamt of. But
not this way. Another day
inside. Flatten the curve.
Delay. Best we can
hope for ? Awash
in uncertainty, I shelter.
Illusions of control shatter
at my feet every hour.
I watch for signs. Steady
myself. Pry open
the heart. Allow
what I feel
to be
here. Hold all
tenderly. Breathe:
This
is how it is. Oh.
Wow.
I get ready, just in case
it’s my time
to fly.
Warm wishes to all – stay safe,
Mary