The Challenge of Corona

We were flying to the Moon
We were finding life on Mars
We were dropping bombs with drones
We were getting bigger cars.

We were building finer homes
Flying out to warmer lands
We were busy buying clothes
We were brushing up our tans.

We were throwing out good food
While we watched the starving poor
We kept burning fossil fuels
And our air became less pure.

We were warned by our Pope
Need to mind our Common Home
Need to watch our Carbon Footprint
Try to save our world from doom.

But we didn’t want to listen
And we didn’t want to hear
We just watched TV and Tablets
Drank our wine and quaffed our beer.

Then Corona chose to visit
We were all caught unprepared
This wee microscopic VIRUS
Has our whole world running scared.

So our hands we keep on washing
And we’re careful when we cough
We stand six feet from our neighbour
Cause this virus might jump off.

Now we live in isolation
While our hearts are full of fear
And we fill our fridge and cupboards
Just in case it lasts a year.

Pubs and cafés are forbidden
And we dare not go to Mass
Nursing homes we must not visit
Hospitals we have to pass.

But this enforced isolation
Gives us lots of time to think
Time to clean the kitchen cupboards
Time to make our wardrobes shrink.

Could it be that this Corona
Is a blessing in disguise
Makes us think about our lifestyle
Makes us open wide our eyes.

We thought we were all important
Greatest beings on this earth
So we used it and abused it
As if it were ours from birth.

But Corona is a challenge
Makes us take a different view
Helps us see what really matters
What it is we need to do.

We must watch out for our neighbour
Doing everything we can
We are all in this together
Let us love our fellow man.

God is with us every moment
Minding us with loving care
Now we know how much we need Him,
Let us talk to Him in prayer.

So Corona, thanks for coming
Truth to tell, we needed you
But don’t overstay your welcome
That, alas, would never do!

-Sr Maud Murphy, SSL

Knock, Ireland