Lockdown – Maybe 'We' Needed This

'To plan for later tomorrows and to accept that normalcy is a myth.'

Jyoti Panday

'To plan for later tomorrows and to accept that normalcy is a myth.'

Maybe we needed this
To rearrange our wardrobes
and to reformulate our opinions
to sip our coffees in silence
and put a full stop
on communal violence.

Maybe we needed this
to read that book
gathering dust on our bookshelf
to alter pre-existing notions
to breathe in and breathe out
pausing the commotion.

To call that long-lost friend
who we always forgot to check in on
To spend more time with family
And more importantly to introspect.

Maybe we needed this to see
how privileged we are and yet we crib
of boredom and not of empty stomachs
of being able to call out those in power
spending extra time in our daily shower.

Maybe we needed this
To plan for later tomorrows
and to correct what has been
To accept that normalcy is a myth
And there is nothing such as ‘permanence’
Everything we knew, believed in, and thought
Is fleeting, transient and temporary.

Maybe we needed this
to recall the agitation
to let the Earth breathe
and to give the voiceless their due
To pick up a new hobby or
to start something new.

Sadly, it had to be a ‘lockdown’
that brought us to this point
Ringing bells and lighting candles
doing our bit of charity
and finally reaching a point in our head
that somewhat resembles ‘clarity’.

Sanjhee Gianchandani holds a Masters’ degree in English Literature from Lady Shri Ram College for Women. She is a CELTA certified ESL trainer and works as a content developer and an editor for Academic English textbooks.

Featured image credit: Shane Avery/Unsplash

This article went live on April thirteenth, two thousand twenty, at zero minutes past twelve at night.

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