We’re doing our Toastmasters meetings online, like most things these days. It’s still fun, just not quite as intense (especially with a glass of wine in your hand!). We’re doing them, like most people, through Zoom.

As it was Poetry Night, with Barbara acting as Meeting Chair, I took the liberty of writing up a little poem befitting the times. Here it is… the format came out looking pretty funky, but I’m not going to bother trying to make it look perfect, so please bear with me.

A Virus Called Corona

It was early in the year,

Some trouble could be brewing a long way from here

A virus called corona, named after a beer

But nothing that resembles The brew we hold so dear

Beer drinkers disliked the name more than others

They said that if they had their druthers

Another name they would prefer,

Than their favourite brand of Mexican beer

February brought us some new rumors,

Not that Corona brought on tumors

But fatalities were thought to have started

At an Wuhan, China wet market

From that point Corona doubled,
We started preparing for some troubles
Tales of people getting sick, and even death
Caused by sharing someone’s breath

Not much to fear, it wasn’t quite here yet,

But it was coming, you’d have to bet

At a later time they would explain

That people brought it with them on a plane.

Corona came here with some stealth,

Threatening our populations health

First a nursing home in Vancouver,

We knew it would be here not later, but sooner.

Myself, in March, I was sitting out west,

Visiting friends and family, I can attest

Crowded cafés and restaurants

Grew less busy as the week went on

My flight home to this fair city

Half an empty plane, it wasn’t pretty

A kid at back, he started coughing

Funny thing is no one was laughing

The week after I got back home here,

Domestic flights were getting rarer

We needed valid reasons for going,

besides avoiding all the snowing.

Late in March the NHL had good reason

to call a halt to this whole season

Instead of watching the Sens goaltending

Might find themselves with virus pending

Restaurants were closing, and closing fast

All were hoping this wouldn’t last

Parks were shut and hopes were dashing

We all hoped this wouldn’t be lasting.

And now the weather’s finally changing

The deck chairs we’re all arranging

It’s usually that time of the year

When warm weather comes and we all cheer

Now front line workers – they’re the ones who

We all find we’re looking up to

Guys like the A&W dude – is his name Fred?

He’s my hero for keeping us fed.

Most of us work in our homes,

To do our work, we’re in the Zone

And getting our stuff out on time

Fueled by an extra glass of wine.

Let’s hope things can as normal be

In short order, we need to be free

to shop in peace without our guards up,

and not be stuck in another drive up.

This whole thing has been a bummer,

But I look forward to the summer

To raise my glass, I hope I’m gonna

Forget about this virus called Corona.