(#Social Isolation#Clapping for the NHS
Clapping permeates night’s stillness
And emerging into darkness
She feels suddenly not alone.
Her face, her outdoor face, is smiling.
Protective arms are placed about her children
As lovingly she looks upon her man
And in this moment’s madness she feels somehow safe
Connected to a world she understands.
She will speak no word about her fear
To sap her strength – to break her,
As she knows such words will only lose their trust,
So silently she locks away her demons,
Buries the key deep down amongst the dust.
Yet inside the minefield of her head
Dark images mingle,
Gnaw away, struggling to get free,
They pummel and punch as they jostle and joust,
Barging and banging as they fight to get out,
Tormenting her soul, unwilling to let her be.
A movement from a child
Returns her back to ‘mother mode’,
The place where she belongs,
The place she feels at home,
So restoring her smile she claps instead,
Ignoring the turmoil invading her head,
And she wonders if other mother’s are being misled
By demons which are banging in their head.
J.H. March 2020
J.M.Hulme. 
What a wonderful poem! I, too, clapped: I was working at my computer with Classic FM online and at 8pm, turned up the volume and opened the window. I was amazed to hear clapping and whooping on our street and I joined in. It was a very moving show of appreciation!
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