In the time of Pandemic
We discovered the world within our walls
We looked into the mirror and said hello
To the stranger within…
Good relationships became the currency
For purchase of all things invaluable
Our fingers and thumbs had no voice
To compete with the comforting sound
Of a hello on the phone…
Husbands whose fingers flew over the keyboard
Hung laundry on the washing line
While getting to know the child
They last saw as a baby in the crib…
Cooking became a pastime of instant gratification
As wives sampled delicious recipes
Dredged from their mother’s and grandma’s cookbooks…
Sons long silent and indifferent daughters
Re-discovered parents relegated by the lure of social
media….
Social distancing repaired the fissures
Deeply embed in the family fabric
And brought us closer while renewing bonds…
The earth healed and birdsong sounded louder
In the deafening silence of crippled industries…
The oxygen in the air outside increased
As the disease kept us prisoners in a world
We had forgotten existed
Within the four walls of our home…
Nimmou Nilakantan
