Published in The Pilgrim, Issue 6, Autumn 2020.
As we live our lives, we are aware of life,
But, unlike us, a storm knows neither of what it is creating or destroying,
Just like this pandemic, it knows of nothing.
The world that we live in,
The environmental problems,
The extreme weather, pollution and natural disasters,
These things come as a surprise,
Surprises we are unprepared to handle.
This virus came all of a sudden and spread viciously.
The bigger surprise was what it turned out to be.
A storm is a natural disaster.
The storm that hit us is a storm like no other.
It started off in Wuhan, China.
Slowly but surely,
It started to spread,
Leaving people all over the world in despair and vulnerable.
Just like a storm destroying whatever is in its path,
Whatever it can get to.
Forcing families to stay inside,
Forcing people to mourn for their loss,
Forcing people to be separated.
And just like this the storm rages on.
Shania Gouldbourne
Nicholas Stewart Project 