Pandemic Pause

by Penny Ibbott, UK.

Could you hear nature breathing?
When all the other noise stopped?
Crowd throng to birdsong
Traffic thrum to bee hum
When the manmade clamour dropped?

To what else did you listen
When the planes no longer flew?
The beat of wings on living things
Lark rise in empty skies
As the silence slowly grew.

What was your reaction
When the world was put on pause?
Was the strangeness to your liking
People walking, running, biking
In the newly quiet outdoors?

Will humanity press 'play' again
When the vaccine's finally won?
Engines roar as aircraft soar,
Fossil fuels burn as wheels turn.

Extinction marches on...