For the collection: 'Life in the time of #COVID'.
my mum is ninety and in a nursing home
her main joy is the visits she gets
but the place is in lock-down with the virus spread risk
so we now chat most days on the phone
and while i suppose it is contact and we still have a laugh
the other morning hit hard when she said
if this lock-down keeps going which it seems like it might
i could be dead before i see you again
as a writer performer i make a living from shows
it’s been my work for decades
but my gigs are all cancelled indefinitely
so i’m not sure what comes next financially
in a way it feels like my life is on hold
not entirely but as far as shows go
but i’m still writing heaps and trying new forms
though a darkness is clouding my words
to make ends meet i rent out part of my house
as an artist it gives some security
but my tenant’s a musician and his work’s dried up too
so who knows what will happen from here
and given the situation he’s in
i feel bad asking each week for the bucks
but we’re working it out as we can bit by bit
we performers are doing it tough
a play that i wrote has been touring in spain
and that’s exciting for me as a playwright
but the tour’s now cancelled because of covid-19
though that means nothing compared to the deaths there
the team involved with the spanish production
are disappointed for this was months coming
but they are living through an ongoing war
and the news on tv makes that clear
i shop at the supermarket quickly once in a week
as that’s what they advise us to do
but it’s strange there now as some shelves are empty
and i saw two women fight over sanitiser
there’s a stress attached to going out for groceries
and a keep away from all others prevails
but within the weird hum i sense a hint of shared care
we all know we’re riding this out together
so it’s ok to exercise we are now being told
and to be honest i’ve done it all along
my beach walks and swims are my sanity savers
it’s the way i connect with normality
my partner joins me when it fits in with our days
or alone if we can’t make meeting work
it’s the only activity that takes me outside the house
i wonder when i’ll be doing some more
i’m not complaining given the world situation
so far i’m healthy and managing ok
but each day seems to bring another concern
and i can’t say that it’s not affecting me
think what we will about normal one day returning
we all want things to be as they were
but will normal ever be the normal we knew
i suppose that will remain to be seen
Stephen House is an award winning playwright, poet and actor. He’s won two Awgie Awards (Australian Writer’s Guild) , Adelaide Fringe Award, Rhonda Jancovich Poetry Award for Social Justice, Goolwa Poetry Cup, Feast Short Story Prize and more. He’s been shortlisted for Lane Cove Literary Award, Overland’s Fair Australia Fiction Prize, Patrick White Playwright and Queensland Premier Drama Awards, Greenroom best actor Award and more. He’s received Australia Council literature residencies to Ireland and Canada, and an India Asialink. His chapbook “real and unreal” was published by ICOE Press. He is published often and performs his work widely. Find out more on his website.