Revisit the seventeenth century
Hang Abracadabra outside your house
Invent new magical spells for our times,
Boriscadaboris might do the trick.
Sniff nosegays, dance Ring-a-ring-a-roses.
Judges try cases in nightingale courts,
Up on Blackheath soon football will restart,
Witness the show world versus the real world.
Amulets and incantations abound,
Rat flea Covid deniers run around
Through shopping malls and half filled bierkellers
They utter naive cabalistic charms,
“Let’s take control of the invisible,
Slow down, push down, control, don’t hang about,
Roll out the Nuclear lock-down option.”
Bring on magical inexactitudes.
Well, whatever we do, just don’t tell the truth,
Get back to work, we do not need real proof.

Harry Rogers, in the yellow room, Sunday 19th July 2020.