The dramatic drumrolls
(the louder the more)
of a section of Journey
to the Centre of the Earth
keep playing in my head

That Jules Verne classic
made into a music epic
by the long-haired Rick Wakeman
enhanced no less
by an eloquent narrator

They’re getting ready
as everyone still is
on very different levels
systems in place or not

The calm before the storm
is a phrase thrown around
in more than one place
even in the same place

(no less wherever
the space the Third World
presently inhabits
on the planet many humans
and others call home)

They’re getting ready
areas being cleared
prepared for the worst
or simply preparing
for a long haul

They’re getting ready

Are you

Lockdown Day 7 it is, and a morning SAFM radio fellow’s phrase rings eery, 2 April 2020.