Our neighbour
who is near and afar.
Hell is not a place
with me in your near.
Your cry has come
I lend you my hum
on this crisis until it’s gone.
Let me hear you not dread
of kindness chaffed to pass
for this is our life set in truss
regardless of our heart’s nation
to save us from an upheaval.
Amen.
* This poem, a rework of ‘The Lord’s Prayer/Our Father’, is inspired after hearing our toddler speak “our neighbour” for the first time during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His words sounded like a prayer.
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The illustration was made to highlight the strong sense of community in Italy, which has been reinforced through facing this crisis (COVID-19) together. In Naples, the “Panaro”, an invention of a basket tied to a string which people dangle out of their window to collect their groceries and avoid going down the stairs, has become indispensable for the most vulnerable people of the community.
***
First published by Literally Literary on Medium
