Not Alone in the Silence.

Not Alone in the Silence.
Who are you? Called to wake mid-morning light,
To face the hurts and hardships of the day,
For not alone, we stand against this blight,
A multitude of hands unto the fray.

Despite those times on immigrants they spat,
Raising empty cries or barbed calumnies,
Here far from home in distant Gujarat,
Nurse they now our stricken casualties.

Perhaps the tables will have truly turned,
And we shall learn before its ner too late,
No longer to remain so unconcerned,
Humanity restored to kinder fate.

Or, be assured the poor will foot the bill,
From when the world fell silent and stood still.

By Ruairí de Barra © 2020

In July last year Pat Carroll, drawing on inspiration from the photography of Rob O’Connor created The Silence. This project brought together over forty-five creatives, authors, poets, artists, and photographers to explore their experiences during the first lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I was privileged to take part with all these wonderful people