Kingston Environment Forum

A poem for our times by Tariq Shabbeer,  June 18th 2020

By the light of the dawning sun,

That lost its veil,

To the Eastern skies,

When the bees are busy,

And the winds and rains subside.

By the morning chorus which drowns,

Lockdown night's silence,

There's more to be explained,

That's known by science.

Twelve weeks plus in isolation,

Was not as much a desolation,

When neighbours, friends and Council too,

Helped us cope and make do.

The world may burn and pillage,

But we are first, a ‘global village’.

It didn’t matter,

If you were black or white,

The virus didn’t care,

If you were left or right,

All united in the fight,

With our glorious NHS,

As our guiding light.

Korean, Arab, Turk or Greek,

A healthy world is all we seek.

For those who'll leave and travel far,

Don’t forget just who you are,

And as the twilight creeps into the West,

I know I’m living with the best,

Most kind, most generous, generally,

We all live here, happily.

So no matter where I roam,

I will never be, lost or alone,

And as the setting sun hangs low,

I’ll remember and I’ll know,

That Kingston,

And England,

Is my home.