We landed in Singapore
eating skittles from a bag.
One more leg to go
before arrival in Oz.
Planning our days,
our tasty meals,
our walks on beaches,
and swims in the sea.
We were met with masked faces,
and temperature scanners
set-up to assess
the threat we posed.
Was this thing really that bad?
We landed in Sydney
with tents erected for those
arriving from China.
We spoke to our relatives
of what we had seen.
Was this thing really that bad?
A few days in and
more cases were confirmed,
the first few back in the UK too.
I visited a school down under
where an emergency meeting
was already underway
for shutting, for coping,
for teaching online.
Perhaps this thing
was that bad
after all.
We spent days in the sun,
even walking the same way
Bondi to Coogee,
as Tom Hanks on
the very same day as
he’d contracted it too.
Good job we’ll be home soon
where it’s safe.
We stopped in Singapore
to enjoy a few days.
A room upgrade for us
in a hotel without guests.
Everyone masked,
and temperatures scanned at
every
single
door.
We arrived in London,
glad to be home.
We’d anticipated quarantine,
questions and scans.
We were met instead
with a piece of paper saying,
please wash your hands.
