Dreams so lofty, goals so big, hope abundant

And almost overnight, it all changed

We woke up in a dystopian novel

People dropping dead all around us

Suspicions of who is Typhoid Mary

Anger at those who defy the rules

Virus travelling from one to the next

Exponentially infecting and taking hostages

Healthy people stricken with fear

Others disbelieving it was so bad

Until shock

When someone famous or someone they know falls ill

Experience is the worst teacher, and always the hardest lessons to swallow

But humans tend to only learn the hard way

Until it hits home and becomes a catastrophe

Surreal environments, empty shelves, carts loaded full

Angry mobs, panicked and afraid

Inner wonded children crying for safety

Not knowing what’s going on and fear coming out sideways

Compassion as hard to come by as toilet paper

And almost overnight it all changed

Caremongering groups pop up

People coming together to help as one

People listening and staying indoors

Connecting on computers with caring

Adjusting and adapting

Reluctantly at first

But then there was calm

People realized we can weather it together

We share the same fears

We share the same hopes

We all want to return to normal

But life will never be the same again

Looking at a grocery list from last month

The woman who held that had no idea

So much would have been different on that list

She had started to prepare

People thought she lost her mind

But intuitively she knew, there wasn’t much time

Never though, would she have realized it would come to this

And here we are

Waiting for that day again

That almost overnight, it all will change once again