Social Meltdown - a Covid poem

Our COVID story continues, with lockdown extended
Our Fathers’ Day ruined, our hopes upended
Dan said don’t rush it
We’ve just got to crush it
This prolonged shutdown, he has strongly defended

That shocking hotel quarantine disaster
Needed more than just a sticking plaster
Untrained security
Infected the community
The virus was spreading faster and faster

But when the going gets tough, we blame the man
We call him names like Chairman Dan
A socialist, a control freak
A sociopath,  a mean streak
All because we don’t like, his recovery plan

When he moved the curfew just one hour later
Many said our Premier’s a raving dictator
But this COVID depression
Is far from oppression
The tyranny of genocide, is of course far greater 

All we have to do, is stay indoors
We’re not sent to die, in foreign wars
We’ve Netflix and takeaways
Not austerity of olden days
We just need to obey, these restrictive laws

But some think themselves above the law
Wouldn’t wear a mask in a Bunnings store
And Karen from Brighton
With comments that frighten
Walking her own streets was such a bore

And then there’s the traitors, lockdown cheats
Those who snuck off, to their holiday retreats
Community lesions
Hiding in the regions
Maybe they were smart, but some say deceit

Meanwhile our Prime Minister seems somewhat deposed
A powerless leader, with State borders closed
His authority weaker
While he pays the Jobseeker 
Premiers run their fiefdoms, some very hard nosed

And the ‘G’ not hosting the footy Grand Final
That’s the final straw, of lockdown survival
What could be worse 
Than the corona curse
Our game played in Brisbane, by interstate rivals

The long road out, is based on us hoping
When the restrictions are lifted, that we stay open
To let businesses recover
In summer like no other
But this is hard to handle and many aren’t coping

Dan’s stubborn step plan, of sticks and stealth
Is causing a new pandemic, of mental health
Such social deprivation
Desperate isolation
Could be even worse, than the virus itself.

They still need to improve, their contact traces
If we’re ever going to reduce, the corona cases
And that COVID Safe App
How hopeless was that
We need more than distance and masks on our faces

Dan said we can’t run our way, out of this lockdown
We’ve got to reduce cases, that daily count down
Stop the spread 
Is what he said
But we better be quick, before there’s a total meltdown

Desperately hoping for an early Christmas treat
Families back together, the virus in retreat
Let’s aim to get
All thresholds met
Here’s to open-air cafes and pubs in the streets

Kevin Holmes, September 2020