by Elisabeth Lamble
I went to the window and looked down my street.
Everything’s quiet, there’s no-one to meet.
No bikers, no walkers, no kids playing ball
No gardeners, no talkers, no, no-one at all.
My friends are all house-bound in just the same way
As I am. They cannot come over to play.
I’ve watched all the you-tubes I wanted to see
I played all the video games that come free.
I learned to shoot hoops, how to stand on my head
I’ve learned to make cookies, and hot dogs, and bread.
So what’s left to do now that I haven’t done?
What’s left to do that will be lots of fun?
What do I do now? I haven’t a clue.
What can I do when there’s nothing to do?
So I went to my buddies, I called up my friends
To see if they’d know when this pandemic ends.
I skyped with my cousins, I zoomed with my class
I texted my grandma: how does your time pass?
What are you doing that isn’t too boring?
What are you making or breaking or pouring?
Just what is your plan that comes to the rescue?
What is the mischief you’re getting into?
What have you been doing, I ask of you?
What do you do when there’s nothing to do?
I called up my Premier Doug Ford on the phone.
I asked him, I begged him, I pleaded and moaned
I need to have something that I want to do
I need to have something that’s fun to pursue.
The Premier said “I know just the right thing
Something that’s fun and that is sure to bring
You much satisfaction, set you on the path
To learn all about English and science and math.
Your virtual classroom will give you the knowledge
That you’ll need someday to get into college.
Get busy! Don’t procrastinate! Get it done!
If you’re started at ten you’ll be finished by one.
Then you’ll have the whole afternoon to have fun.”
I texted my best buddy, Jake is his name
He lives in New Brunswick in Big Kinney Lane
He’s busy with learning all about bees
He learned how they pollinate flowers and trees.
He learned that bee hives are each ruled by a queen,
That female bees work hard; they’re the ones we’ve all seen.
Male bees don’t have stingers. Their job is to roam
To find the right spot a new hive can call home.
I skyped with my friend, my friend Mike from B.C.
He moved to Vancouver with his family.
Mike goes to the mountains and watches the stars
He learned about Jupiter, Venus and Mars
And why the sun rises from east and sets west
And what time of year shooting stars are the best.
He learned how the moon pulls the tides into land
And how Saturn’s rings became shaped into bands.
There’s so much to learn, he has so much to do
With all of these mysteries, all these things new.
Friend Beth from Saskatchewan is flying the kite
That she made in her grandfather’s workshop one night.
She searched out materials, researched design
Her sail is a garbage bag, tails are of twine
Her mast an old broom stick. And it works just fine.
On nice days with sun and a good steady breeze
Beth takes her kite out to the fields with no trees.
Holding it up, the wind takes it from there
The wind grabs it and raises it into the air
It goes higher and higher, it leaps and it soars
It curls and it turns as it plays and explores
The sky and air and the wind and the sun.
I wish I could fly, it looks like such fun.
Well, I’ve learned a lot in my search and my quest
I learned that all fun is not always the best
I learned that this time is not just about fun
There are still some things that just have to be done
I still have to get up, get showered and dressed
I still have to do homework and pass all my tests
I have to eat veggies, stay active, be present
And especially now, I still have to be pleasant
But there are so many fun things I could do
The problem will be –
WHICH ONES DO I CHOOSE?!?
