Remember
when breathing was normal, just something you did?
Not inhaling a virus & getting sick quick.
Remember
when wearing a face mask was Halloween art
& queuing wasn’t standing two metres apart?
Remember
when distance wasn’t seen as socially good
& shielding was a word no-one understood?
Remember
when coughing or sneezing wasn’t a clear infection sign
& hugging or kissing your friends was just fine?
Remember
when flying for holidays, work or abroad was actually expected
& wasn’t outlawed?
Remember
when attending a festival, hearing music played live
wasn’t a viral disaster that helped the R-number thrive?
Remember
when eating out in restaurants was a choice you could make
& staying in was optional, not a government mandate?
Remember
when going to pubs was part of the week
& drinking at home wasn’t Quarantine chic?
Remember
when working meant leaving your house as a home
& Zoom as an app wasn’t yet known?
Remember
when furlough was something new & unheard
& getting paid for not working completely absurd?
Remember
when education was done in Uni’s & Schools
& taught face to face not on digital tools?
Remember
when living in cities equalled fortune & fun?
Not cramped in a tiny flat with no garden or sun.
Remember
when leisure was a hobby you did on the side?
Not time-restricted movement & regimented exercise.
Remember
when sitting in a park, on a beach, or a hill was quite unremarkable?
Not a selfish act that kills.
Remember
When collective clapping was for talks & for plays?
Not for essential workers who aren’t properly paid.
Remember
when reading was escapism & for light relief?
Not daily death graphs & government briefs.
Remember
your life before COVID arrived?
Now remember all those who have not survived.
Barefoot Sociologist 
Really good. Shows the relativity of this world. Yet even though so much has changed, we should still consider how things could be worse as the final line shows.
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