Dear Coronavirus
We only have halcyon memories of the summer before you came swimming to our shores, maybe more like flying in from the north. At first, some thought you were just a traveler’s disease and for a time we rested on our laurels.
But you woke us early one morning with your virulent temper and locked us up in our homes for weeks on end, hurriedly shutting-down our lives. You broke all news channels with your apocalyptic utterances, leaving devastation in your wake, as you made your way into our Cities, then from town to town and village to village. You finally spread yourself out along our deserted beaches, and we watched helplessly from a distance as bird-life returned, but humankind stayed away.
This year there were no squeals of happy children splashing in the surf, no families with overflowing picnic baskets and umbrellas traipsing across the hot sands…
Only fishermen were able to wade into warm waters and feel the heat of summer on their backs. Holiday makers journeyed home with no snapshots of beach parties or the magic of summer, still pale from indoor celebrations. New year festivities were just a sprinkle of distant laughter and restaurants felt a heave of emptiness as they closed their doors at 9pm.
Sadness is all around us now, you have imprinted us with fear and we will never forget how you tried to steal our joy!!
From a Seaside dweller.
P.S. Please go away and let us get back to being human again.
