Diary Entries

2020. Good, um that’s questionable. I hated COVID but there was also a flood and a drought. But I’m only going to talk about COVID. It broke me away from my friends so I had to find a loop hole. It kind of worked, my plan was to get Discord because we obviously couldn’t see them in person and I didn’t have a phone, so yeah. But because everybody was on the internet it kept on dropping out, so to fix that I had to restart the internet. But as soon as COVID died down I went to all my friends houses. That’s my thoughts anyway that’s what happened because of COVID-19. I hope that nothing like this ever happens for generations to come.

A virus took over the world In the shape of corona it curled It started in Wuhan Where travel they did ban But globally it all unfurled It’s only a flu, we were told But that argument soon became old In Europe it spread And many were dead In all countries eventually took hold Everywhere there was lots of confusion With this new pandemic suffusion Most travel was banned Activities canned Trump said it was all an illusion Many countries locked down with a bang And the cry to self-isolate rang In Australia each week It became rather bleak From every TV the news sang The older ones lockdown did reach While youngsters just flocked to the beach A tantrum Scott threw And made more rules anew While exhorting the teachers to teach Now over in the USA Trump continued to tweet and say Nothing to see here The world has gone queer Our America’s still best today How extraordinary now Trump appears He admits it’s not skittles and beers He’ll finally admit This virus has hit And he blames WHO for all his fears Meanwhile back in Australia we’re fine Keeping touch with our families online We’re flattening the curve And holding our nerve Getting by with much food and more wine But we wonder just where it will end Is this now our new normal trend? We keep children amused And keep track of the news And attempt the graphs to comprehend While we’ve all been in our lockdown state Pollution’s starting to abate Our PM’s turned socialist Could he be environmentalist? Back to business as usual I’d hate So let’s learn from this COVID-19 Back to old ways I’m really not keen Let’s all readjust And do what we must But from busyness let us all wean

FaceTime: Session 3 Her mother holds our 20-month-old granddaughter and her new little sister we’ve only met in virtual space. She reaches out to us, smile a wisp of her usual full-faced lighting-up when she sees us. Then in goes the thumb, other hand playing with her ear as she does when she’s tired. In my arms, and my heart, this dull ache. her starfish hands touching the screen nanna...gampa Haibun prose poem published in MacQueen’s Qinterly: Knock-your-socks-off Art and Literature, Issue 3, May 2020, Section 1; Republished with permission from Haiku in the time of COVID-19 (Facebook private group: 7 April 2020)

Care Home (A pandemic haiku sequence, 2020) nil by mouth chest pains in the night at the care home . striding behind an emergency team masked police . pull of electrodes the busy to-and-fro of orderlies . cannula in place the steady drip of a long life . the last time he gives his name and date of birth . doctors in PPE keeping a little more distance . bone-white neon the meandering black dot of a trapped fly . louder pings into the silence hurrying feet . switching off life support smell of despair . someone’s granddad tagged like a newborn no-one asks his name . empty corridor a walking frame left by the lift . a stethoscope on its usual hook another funeral ...

2020 has been the hardest year ever. Covid 19 is changing people's lives. I hope that one day things will get back to normal soon. I hope that next year will be better than this year. Now that I am back at school I'm happy because I get to see all of my friends and see all the teachers. When I was at home all alone, I felt weird and it was not like school. I hope in the future Covid19 will stop and life will change back to normal, like before this all happened. At home was hard for me because I didn't have anyone to play with for recess, lunch and fruit break. It was really hard for me to concentrate because my sister was always distracting me. It was hard at home.

2020. The worst year ever! I couldn’t go to school, it felt like it was months since we went back! I really wanted to go back to school and see all of my friends because I was missing them so much. I really missed the teachers too but Covid-19 was mean to everyone and blocked up all our lives! While I was at home doing (boring) school work we had breaks in between just like Recess, Lunch and Fruit Break. I also liked bonding with my Mum, Dad and my 2 (annoying) little sisters. When my mum told me and my sisters we would be going back to school I felt relieved! All I did while I was at home was play Minecraft on my iPad and do LOTS of school work. I had fun at home but sometimes I was just So bored. When I was bored I would say to myself, ‘hmm.. I hope things will get better from here!’ On the 1st of June a few restaurants and fun parks opened. Do you know why? I do, it’s because the amount of covid-19 cases keep lowering and lowering which is a very good thing! Hopefully next year is an improvement on this year. And also we should all stand together and stop Racism!

I thought that 2020 would be the easiest year ever until Corona. I'm not gonna lie it did sort of feel like a holiday. But I'm happy to be back at school mainly because I can see my friends. I also had a birthday. It was pretty fun for a birthday in quarantine. My favorite present I got was my bike. I thought that it was really hard doing work at home. I hated not being able to speak to my friends , i had to do my work. How sad.

Diary of a Quarantinee DAY 1 Wednesday 25 March 2020 At Darwin Airport I line up with other travellers, all of us spaced a metre or so apart, some wearing masks. at the official window I'm inquisitioned: Do you have a cough or cold? Are you able to isolate for fourteen days? Fortunately I'm allowed to isolate in my small unit, where I live alone. DAY 2 Thursday Isolation soon turns into mandatory quarantine. Now reality hits: no more walks lest I face a steep fine. DAYS 3 to 4 Friday to Saturday Each day is much like the other.Why bother dressing when there's nowhere to go? Much easier to stay in night attire. DAYS 5 to 6 Sunday to Monday I try not to add too much gin to my nightly glass. DAY 7 Tuesday A week in quarantine. My world is confined to the parameters of my small unit, which I keep cleaning and tidying with relentless monotony verging on OCD. DAYS 8 to 10 Wednesday to Friday I begin to see advantages in my enforced isolation. At last I have time to work on my novel. Only I don't. DAYS 10 to 11 Saturday to Sunday A strange restlessness besets me; a kind of guilt for being cut off from nearest and dearest DAYS 12 to 13 Monday to Tuesday Dare I say I’m quite enjoying it? I can have icecream for dinner and go to bed at midnight. I have control of the remote. What's not to like? DAY 14 Wednesday Do I want to be part of the madding crowd? This is my ideal life, I realise. I think I'll stay in quarantine forever, §

Has the virus come to teach me? Suddenly I quickly realise what is important and what isn't. I appreciate how lucky I am to have a family, my health, a job, a home, and that I live in Australia. How kindness is the most important currency we have, and less does really equal more. That Freedom and humility is so precious. FOMO is out. I don't have to do everything. Simplicity is good. Restraint is good. It has taught me to reflect , slow down, and consciously take the time to "Smell the Roses." I am trying to lose the "selfishness", and instead of wondering what photo, I will post on social media today, I will try to make someone else's day a littler nicer wherever I can. Covid_19 has taught me to be thankful and grateful, with all that I have..and that life is so precious and, is to be lived wisely. I hope to pass the test.

During quarantine it was kinda fun because I i could go on a bike ride with my sister and dad in the forests. But the worst thing was, I was doing my work and my baby sister kept screaming and it was so annoying. I felt like the maddest chicken on the land because she was screaming so loud I was about to slap her. I will never forget the people who died with covid-19. Im exited to go to the water park and to go to the park and my cousins house. Also wash your hand for 20 seconds with soap and hand sanitizer is okay to. So we can make coronavirus or covid-19 shrink shrink and untill it dies. Don't forget to stand 1.5m away and wear a mask.