The joys of home

The New Normal

Today is the end of my struggle with an assignment for my Masters at MMU. It’s done and submitted early. More like abandoned into the wilderness of Turnitin. So time on my hands and that feels a bit strange. Of course, I have a list of things to do in this semi-new normal milieu, but I couldn’t resist posting the photo on here which may characterise this new situation for others. Cruel but fun. I wrote this piece a few weeks ago and feel that it is apt to put it up now. So enjoy as always.

 A Domestic in a Time of Disaster

 The Blue-ray remote has gone missing;

chaos has broken out in the aftermath;

a six and a four-year-old court-martialled

for endangering the lives of the household,

in this time of crisis and confinement.

Emergency services have been deployed;

boxes of Lego upended, cushions scattered.

The dog cowers in the corner terrorised;

no topic allowed to be voiced that offsets

the focus on this catastrophic slip.

Thousands of discs lie helpless on shelves,

useless and worthless without this magic key.

Stormtroopers revisit and repeat the search

among the rubble of toys and games and puzzles.

Those who can retreat, hide in isolation.

Peter Clarke

May 2020