IF ( April 2020)

IF

If you can keep your social distance, when all about you are breaking the rules

And teach your kids from home now there are no more schools                     

If you can trust yourself to wash your hands 

And cast aside your cherished plans

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or stuck at home still find the will to exercise

Or cooped up with family, not give in to hating,

 If you can dream- but take each day as it comes   

If you can think, read, listen, learn

If you can smile at someone on one of your runs

And feel that normality will return

If you can bear to watch the news, take in what’s spoken

Let it sink in, but not fell you

And know that not everything is forever broken,

Things will be alright, this much I can tell you

If you can make one heap of all your food

And cook and eat your meals

If you can call someone in a quiet interlude

And know how love feels 

If you can ask your heart and nerve and sinew

To keep you steady, well, strong

Do it. We’ll get through it

No matter how long

If you can talk with crowds. Don’t. Stay at home. 

For sake of the NHS and all on the frontline.

And if standing together means walking alone 

I’ll protect your family if you protect mine

If you understand that we each have a part to play in bringing this under control

And that only together we’ll save lives, as proof of our soul.