It was early twenty-twenty
Our clash with COVID-19,
When Big Boss ordered lockdown
A three-week quarantine!

Suddenly our world was awash
With words like sanitise,
Along with a heap of hygiene rules
Like don’t touch your nose or eyes.

The way mums went panic-shopping
And dads stocked up on beer,
You’d have thought we were in lockdown
For more than half a year!

On day one of isolation
As we all stayed in our homes,
The silence in the streets outside
Made me fear the big unknown…

Hospitals, police and army tanks
Flooded eNCA,
While News24 said jail time
For those who don’t obey.

Mum was feeling frazzled
Dad lamented lack of sports,
Us kids felt the tension
From those endless news reports…

The shaky start continued
As mum took out our books,
She tried her hand at home school
And turning us into cooks…

We fought and we grumbled
We resisted every chore,
‘Til one day dad exploded
Said he could take no more!

He threw us an ultimatum
We could sit around and mope,
Or toss those books and start afresh
Drawing rainbows of hope…

From that day on we’d start each day
With thoughts of gratitude,
Give thanks that we were warm and safe
With family, fun and food.

We dusted off the boardgames
We listed garden birds,
We practised settling differences
With calm and gentle words.

Mum’s hair is actually grey
(Top secret in our lockdown)
And Dad declared he was forevermore
Going to work in his dressing gown!

After lockdown finally lifted
My memories become quite vague,
I recall a ton of wildlife laws
From that place they call the Hague.

What I remember most
About those scary Corona Wars,
Was the way the world united
And healed in that brief pause…

I am proud of our victory
Against vulgar viral invaders,
But nothing beats being part of
Cyril’s Stay-At-Home Crusaders!