Pinching

 Pinching myself

Pinching myself to make sure it’s real 

Not a dream but the realization

Life has returned, for us at least

Lucky enough to walk Canarian beaches 

And drink cheap beer in British bars. 

Young couples strolling past in love

Holding hands with their lives ahead. Outnumbered by the elderly

Who have spent the years together. 

They walk more slowly now and carefully

Ration money to make it last the week. 

Drinking on the terrace looking out to sea

The western isle lights up as the sun goes down

Then the clouds break and the evening

Shows promise for the day that follows. 

We shall not fall back into old bad habits 

Before the COVID plague nor take for granted

Our ridiculous and tremendous luck

That still holds out against the odds. 

We are the lucky generation in a blessed land. 

Two years later is as if nothing’s happened, 

The restaurants full and the airport buzzing,

Life returns to fill the void and persuade us

The long lost months have been a wicked dream

Like Lazarus we are reborn to the sounds of Queen

That echo from the Irish Scene.