Swirling Inside

Numbed,
it's easier to hide.
Hidden,
you can't be seen.
Vision,
blurred by the overload.
Explosion,
it had to come.

Words © Neil Hayes and neilhayeswrites

Havens of Nature

Who else is missing nature right now? I know I am. During the current crisis many of us have had to become accustomed to spending more time surrounded by four walls. The problem is that what you do most of the time becomes the new normal, doesn’t it?

People are slowly beginning to emerge from lockdown in many countries, and in the Czech Republic most things are almost back to normal. One more week and most restrictions will have been lifted. One more week of face masks, at least the compulsory use anyway. One more week of no schools, until a weird sanitised form will be reintroduced for those who need it. One more week until people can really begin to relax. But will we?

Nature was supposed to be the escape during all of this. Get away from the town and get some fresh air. The problem is that everyone else felt the same desperation and before you knew it the forests were full and the town centres were empty. Then we faced a weird choice. If we wanted some freedom we actually had to return to the human creations, heading away from what should have been more natural.

Appreciation

He lives in an apartment, which from the outside may look like a uniform grey block of uniformity. But he doesn’t spend a lot of time looking at the outside of the block, so it has never bothered him really.

Currently, he is alone. Well, except for the rabbit anyway. He loves that rabbit, but just like children it needs taking care of and to be taught the rudiments of good behaviour. At least the children eventually stopping peeing on the floor, but he is not so sure the rabbit will ever learn.

His wife is shopping and his children are with their grandparents, so he has a bit of time to himself. But, as ever, he has too many things which he would like to be doing with his time. Will he ever learn? He is currently spending part of his, supposed, relaxation time chasing that rabbit around the living room. It’s frustrating but it could be worse, he reminds himself.

How Are We Feeling?

Strange times are upon us. It is hard to know how to react, isn’t it? Personally, I am trying to look for the positives in the whole situation, remain active, and keep my moods under control. That last one is not always easy, just ask my poor wife. So I have got to find some way to cope with this lockdown. Working from home has always been my dream, but it’s a bit different when the whole family is there too, and you are restricted in your movements in the outside world.

Now and Then

Sitting on one end of a wet, empty bench. Looking along a line of uneven slats which are wavering towards the horizon. Today they are deserted but I can’t help but wonder what life they have seen. How many conversations have been had? Relationships will have been started and ended in these spots. Fun will have been had. Everything from secretive teenage drinking to classical recitals,for the more mature, will have taken place here. Even if these are no longer the original benches, then the ghosts of these past events will still linger on.