Isolation

 

Sitting on my own

In social isolation

No one can visit

And I can visit no one

 

Coffee shops are shut

Life is on hold again

But even on my own

I am not alone

 

Because in my loneliness

Others are feeling the same

Distanced from friends

Not connected to the world

 

But in this, we are not alone

As you have gone before us

Because while you prayed

Your friends were sleeping

 

When you were arrested, they fled

They denied your existence

And the reality is

That this still happens

 

You were broken and mocked

No one came to your aid

You died on the cross alone

Feeling abandoned by all, even your Father

 

So now in the world of lockdown

On the days we are in quarantine

You are with us in our pain

As you have gone before us

 

Jo Anne Kennedy

October 2020

Extra Baggage

 

It is something I deal with daily

It’s like extra baggage on my back

And it is a taboo subject

How can you be lonely in this world?

 

The answer is easy

It's easy to be lonely in the crowds

To be around people but feel alone

And feeling lost

 

Anyone with a chronic illness

Knows what loneliness is like

Yes people care and yes they pray

But ultimately the journey is yours alone

 

It is a journey only you can do

No one can die with you,

That’s a journey that you do alone

Loneliness is a fact of life

 

But can loneliness be a  gift?

How can it be you say?

Because loneliness leaves you depressed

It leaves you feeling empty

 

But what if in your loneliness

God was trying to get your attention

He wants you to focus on Him

And on Him alone

 

So He lets that friend leave you

He lets the job go bad

He lets the family member die

He lets the church ignore you

 

He removes your options one by one

So that all you have left is Him

All you can do is turn to Him

And in Him rejoice at the gift He has given you

 

Jo Anne Kennedy

June 2020

Second Surge

 

 

We were told to stay in

And keep everyone safe

We were told to listen

To what was being said

 

We were told to be kind

And keep our distance

To help protect this virus from spreading

And to protect the overrun NHS

 

Most people obeyed

And kept to the rules

Staying indoors and washing hand

To help themselves keep well

 

But others disobeyed

They broke the rules

They went to beach parties

And shamed themselves

 

Others went to protests

Standing one on top of another

Spreading the virus with human contact

Making way for a second surge

 

People can be stupid

They can be inconsiderate

But others are being sensible

Because they know this virus kills

 

 

Jo Anne Kennedy

June 2020

Glint In Your Eye

                                                                   It’s the way you walk

With your head down

And when people say hello

You don’t speak at all

 

This makes people afraid of you

Your serious dace intimidates them

And your silence unnerves them

Which makes them nervous around you

 

I see where they are coming from

I feel the same sometimes

But other times you soften

And show me that infectious smile

 

And then there is the glint in your eye

And that cheeky grin

When you are winding me up

With your outrageous comments

 

 

It’s those comments that got me

As sometimes it’s hard to know

When you are being serious

Or you are actually joking

 

But then that is me being gullible

Which in turn cracks you up

And brings around that laugh

Which makes me smile

 

                Jo Anne Kennedy

June 2020

Approval

 
Your words control me
I want your approval
Please do not criticise
Just to say well done
 
I need your approval
It makes me happy
But do I really?
Will it make me whole?
 
I fear your criticism
I want you to like me
To have a good opinion of me
And be please with my doings
 
But this is wrong of me
I am looking to the wrong person
For approval and love
True joy will never be gained here
 
I am being deceived
All my life this has been my aim
To get approval from others
To think that completes me
 
Worldly love is great
But it is not the end
To gain complete joy
I need to raise my eyes higher
 
I am already accepted
I was chosen before I was born
I am wanted and overall I am truly loved
I have nothing to prove
 
Jo Anne Kennedy
August 2020

Open Your Eyes

 

Everyday brings new problems

If it is not one thing, it is another

And you always find something to complain about

And it is never your fault

 

People are angry with you

And you seem to not know why

People are in tears over you

But it passes you by

 

You sit and say you have no idea

Why things are falling apart

You blame others for the demise

Of the empire you believe you built

 

The truth is things get better

In the time you were away

And it is only since your return

That the cracks are showing again

 

You bring hurt and pain

With every word you say

Every action you make

Brings a little more destruction

 

Will, you ever wake up to see?

The trail of hurt you have caused

Or are you so self centered

That you only care about you?

 

Please open your eyes

To see the pain and hurt in people’s eyes

And realise what you are doing

Before anyone else get hurts

 

 

Jo Anne Kennedy

August 2020

The More I Hear About You

 

The more I hear about you

The more I dislike you

And also dislike myself

For thinking you were decent

 

The more I hear about you

The more I regret my past

And believing in you

And the words you said

 

The more I hear about you

The more I begin to realise

That it is you who is the common denominator

In the pollution of the atmosphere

 

The more I hear about you

The more I can see

That people are hurt and scared

By the way you treated them

 

The more I hear about you

The more I wonder

Do you actually realise

The pain and the hurt you have caused

 

The more I hear about you

The more I am sympathetic

With the puppy dog who follows you

And worships your every word

 

The more I hear about you

The more I wonder

Would life be better?

If I had never met you