Lockdown #6: Social Imagination
Why wasn’t this lockdown a temporary arrangement
Just time to test tracking and tracing engagement
Victoria’s Bitter
But Melbourne’s no quitter
The pariah of our nation, total estrangement
Dan Andrews’ lockdown has stirred up division
Health and economy have been in collision
When authoritarian
Becomes contrarian
Has a little stubbornness clouded decision?
This second wave has had a very long tail
Our civil liberties are still curtailed
Haircuts and 25 Ks
Still no pubs or open cafes
More hospitality businesses are destined to fail
The super spreader truck driver, stirring disorder
Recklessly crisscrossing Melbourne’s border
Drove from Chadstone
Kilmore to Shepparton
Infected the regions, almost manslaughter
Across the Tasman it’s Jacinda Mania
But it’s ho hum here in Victoria, Australia
And England’s closing
France foreboding
Heading into a winter of looming failure
So who can we trust as a crisis leader
We need more than just a daily news feeder
Integrity and confidence
Inspiring with prominence
Not the time for a political inbreeder
In NSW, corruption has been exposed
The Premier’s been found to have no clothes
Romantic entanglement
Could be her dismantlement
Her partner’s sleezy dealings, undisclosed
It’s the American election of geriatrics
And one of them is clearly psychiatric
The White House buffoon
Boasts he’s immune
His campaign rallies are dangerous theatrics
We opened a Trans-Tasman travel bubble
International flights with a domestic smuggle
Such an uproar
When Kiwi outlaws
Sneaked into Victoria, caused so much trouble
Our Melbourne Vixens defeated the Fever
Now for Melbourne v COVID, at first receiver
Grand Final in Brisbane
Geelong and Richmond
A Victorian victory, our lockdown reliever
My daughter left school for the very last time
Walked out the gates, to the bell’s final chime
No wild jubilations
Or schoolie migrations
Her valedictory dinner was all online
My lockdown has been a remote work juggle
But for family and friends a far worse struggle
My daughter’s education
My brother’s isolation
His boy waiting for Papa to play and a cuddle
In Victoria, the reason we’ve done it tough
Is tracking and tracing weren’t good enough
Are we now right to go
We deserve to know
Any new outbreak must be quickly rebuffed.
We must capture this unique opportunity, not rush so fast
Don’t recreate the same, to just restore the past
Imagination
For our future nation
With no vaccine for climate change, we need a planet that’ll last!
Kevin Holmes • 20th October 2020
