We're fighting a war,
as if the enemy is new.
Avoid unnecessary contact,
as if we had a choice.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime rally
we've been fighting day in, day out.
Welcome - we've been lonely, we've been waiting.
Fear and relief strike in equal measure.
We're not alone now
for a moment it seems, before
the young replace the old,
the fit engaged in a wholesale raid.
The war will never be won; the young and fit
will soon forget their spoils, their bounty.
Soon you will wave goodbye, good luck, good riddance,
as we press on alone.
Welcome. We were here before, we will be here
long after.
Grace:
“I moved to the UK from Malaysia several years ago and also have a severe disability. This poem is meant to represent how a disabled person may feel during this pandemic, especially when some like me have always lived with a fear of viruses due to how we are at higher risk, and how others may even have been self-isolating for years. The world is now catching up with how we feel and whilst we all seem relatively united about not spreading viruses, etc, and I am hopeful that, for example, one result of the pandemic is that people will actually not go into the office sick, I feel that people are going to go back to their daily lives once this is over and forget this feeling. This poem serves as a reminder that this is what many disabled people have been experiencing all their lives." "
University of Cambridge | instagram: @gracehuiauthor | facebook: @gracehuiauthor | twitter: @gracehuiauthor