I don't have work (a covid year)

she writes 

I don’t have work

it was a devastating year

this virus, this pain

please let me be alone, safe in my cellar
my cave - no bad news refrain - private
and we’ll gain strength

listen darling, listen how it’s falling 

this autumn rain

brave little children in your brave little masks
Tswana, Zulu, Sesotho, siSwati
and Emma says she’s hungry
in Afrikaans

she writes

I don’t have work

it was a devastating year

this virus, this pain

all I want is mental health, peace

and quiet

she rides

Ubers, taxis 

good morning, sawubona

languages contain no shame

goodbye, hamba kahle

stay safe and keep distance

please not another riot
and we’ll gain strength

listen darling, listen how it’s falling 

this autumn rain

she thinks

do I have a muse of honesty
brilliance and love I can trust

breathe again
but when, because that year
all understanding stopped

she writes

I don’t have work

it was a devastating year

this virus, this pain

but even in sickness

proud

Gqeberha, Krotoa, Bientang

gay

my lief
my kelkiewyn

respect christian, muslim, atheist, jew 

free thinker, transgender, and Gaia Earth
and we’ll gain strength 

listen darling, listen how it’s falling 

this autumn rain

re tla ba matla, we’ll be strong again
if we nurture our inner peace

our name

my love, my turtledove

my taste of wine

a sadness is showing on her face 

when she writes

I don’t have work

it was a devastating year

this virus, this pain

listen darling, listen how it’s falling 

this autumn rain

🦋🌿

© Annora Eksteen, 2025