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Sonnet-19

SONNET-19


When I consider how my lockdown's spent,
Attached to a device, devouring time,
While others ration minutes, breaths, and I'm
Consuming content just to keep content;
While patient-focussed carers still are sent
Without protection to the new frontlines,
Like miners drilling in untested mines,
And undergo this trial without complaint;
I understand I’m squandering my days.
‘And yet,’ they say, ‘Consider this disease
That lunges between lungs at growing rate;
As long as you’re a citizen who stays
At home not spreading it, you’re key’: It seems
They also serve who only stand and wait.

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