Two ‘C’ Words

 

 

They both begin with ‘C’

But the similarities stop right there,

One has brought us considerable fear

The other comes but once a year.

 

If by now you have not guessed

You cannot be from around here,

Venus or Mars or Pluto maybe,

But not from this earth sphere.

 

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc

All across the world

And there have been opinions galore

From the sensible to the absurd.

 

A demon some have called it

Visited upon all the people,

An indication of the second coming

To set up the kingdom of Israel.

 

Some argue it is an evil plan

To reduce the earth’s population

And the names of wealthy men infer

To arouse our imagination.

 

 

The first ‘C’ word is COVID

COVID-19 to be precise,

#1 menace for two years going

Squeezing us like a vice.

 

Mutating like some alien

Every one worse than before,

Bearing the names of Greek letters

It’s Omicron to the fore.

 

First sighted in 2019

After which it was named,

Since then it has been on a rampage

Causing the world much pain.

 

Loss of income and loved ones,

Loss of livelihood and life

Causing many to believe

Someone is behind this strife.

 

The second ‘C’ is Christmas

Known for its goodwill and joy

Which in 2020 were severely hampered

As protocols were employed.

 

No hugging and no kissing,

Maintaining a physical distance,

Wearing masks and hand-sanitizing

To enable COVID resistance.

 

Two other layers of protection:

Curfews and vaccines

But in spite of all our efforts

COVID is still going full steam.

And for the second year

We have the clash of the two ‘Cs’,

It’s COVID versus Christmas

With yet another freeze.

 

Restricted church attendance

For Christmas and Old Years,

And no bus-crawl to trigger a wave

Like what happened last year.

 

Reduced family gatherings

Except for virtual meetings,

And using the World Wide Web

To convey Christmas greetings.

 

Another restrained Christmas

The second in succession,

With the presence of COVID-19

Hampering our celebration.

 

I hope 2022 will be different

With COVID left behind

And rather than two “Cs” at battle,

It will just be Christmas time. 

 

Then we’ll be back to normal

With hugs and kisses galore,

COVID will be a memory of the past

And it’ll be Christmas like before.

 

Stewart Russell © December 10, 2021