I want to thank everyone that has been following along in my blog for the last week. I started self isolating on March 12 due to the fact I’m over 50, and have a heart condition. I went through a battle to get back to health through most of 2015, and I really don’t want to go back there. I’ve been through an induced coma, pneumonia, septic shock, all due to my heart blood clot. But I’m not sure if my body could survive COVID-19. So, I isolated or how it feels to me, am hiding from getting this disease.
Then, I saw this poem today on Facebook being passed around. So many people are sharing their art. I would like to share it with you.
“History will remember when the world stopped.
And the flights stayed on the ground.
And the cars parked on the street.
And the trains didn’t run.
History will remember when the schools closed.
And the children stayed indoors.
And the medical staff walked towards the fire.
And they didn’t run.
History will remember when the people fought.
For their old and their weak.
Protected by the vulnerable.
By doing nothing at all.
History will remember when the virus left.
And the houses opened.
And the people came out.
And hugged and kissed.
And started again.
Kinder than before.”
The poem above helped me this morning. Creating art, blogging and writing, is helping me. But I also feel like I’m waking up in the middle of a dystopian novel each day, and it’s making all the zombie shows and apocalyptic shows more real. I guess this is because I live a lot of the time in my imagination which really helps my writing self. But for a real pandemic, it is creating a fear that I have to face daily.
But now, reality is partially like fiction these days. That makes it kind of weird. Like expecting the vampires and zombies to show up next. I’m sure marshal law is just around the corner like in the Handmaid’s Tale, and too many things in fiction are making an appearance in real life. Maybe the jokes on me, because I imagine all this and write stuff down. Some of it has go to come true, right?
I’d like to give credit to Donna Ashworth and say thank you for the use of her poem. I contacted her on Facebook after I read it, and can see the story of how her poem is spreading and helping others. I’d like to present you with some journaling questions for parents and children in use with the poem to help with journaling on this subject:
- How are you feeling about being in isolation or the soon to come shelter in place for your area?
- Write down some of how you’re feeling about the corona virus in your journal. How are you feeling? What fears do you have? What experiences have you had over the past few weeks?
- How does art help you?
- What kind of art can you create to express your feelings or experiences about being in isolation or fears of the corona virus?
Feel free to comment below. If you like, you can talk with your children and see if they would like to use the poem above as an inspiration to write in their journals today or create some art. They can paint, write a poem, story, a song, dance, or create what they feel is right. I taught on 9/11/01 and the days that followed, and I had my students journal their feelings as that disaster in our nation’s history unfolded. This is another time where journaling our feelings can be helpful.
Feel free to use the questions above or even add questions below in the comments. This can be a discussion for my blog community following along with my novel study and homeschooling activities. I’d love to hear how you are feeling.
Take care, and be kind to each other.
-Tiffany Turner
(Mrs. Turner)
For more information on Donna Ashworth, please visit her website/blog:
The Indie Children's Authors Connection 