Stepping Out Poem by Frank Bana

In some future day I'll step into the light
Maybe next spring, at 5am, wearing faded jeans
And a white-face mask. How warm it will be
When the winds have come in from Africa
And our lungs are mostly virus-free
I'll ramble the meadows randomly
Towards any horizon, the vastness of green
Embracing me, as she would do
In a new country, my little Kalahari
Where English wildflowers sway in bloom

Emerging not as if from war
Nor from the loneliness of slavery
Emerging from wantonness and cruelty
Picking my way through death's debris
Imprisoned by flesh, nervous government
Bound to the sick, the elders and young
And to all for whom reckoning has come

On that day in baby steps rejoicing
I'll blow you a kiss from the corner
I'll raise my voice to greet my neighbour,
Dumela Mma, Bom Dia Senhora
Hello Dear, just like it used to be
Before we stood in driveways, banging pots and pans
Our discord waking up the night
And blending into a harmony
Of something more compassionate, more kind

They heard it at Stonehenge, rock-bearers
Suffering ghosts beneath the load
They heard it behind metal fences
In research labs at Porton Down
Working their science to keep us from harm
Until we could open our doors again
And wave and shout, take each other in
For cups of tea, in hope reborn
Stepping softly, stepping out in light
After the emergency.