This poem was written in 1869, reprinted during the 1919 pandemic.
Edit from Admin: Written in 2020 by Kitty Omeara
And people stayed at home
And read books
And listened
And they rested
And did exercises
And made art and played
And learned new ways of being
And stopped and listened
More deeply
Someone meditated, someone prayed
Someone met their shadow
And people began to think differently
And people healed.
And in the absence of people who
Lived in ignorant ways
Dangerous, meaningless and heartless,
The earth also began to heal
And when the danger ended and
People found themselves
They grieved for the dead
And made new choices
And dreamed of new visions
And created new ways of living
And completely healed the earth
Just as they were healed.
Kathleen O’Mara
I have learnt so much over the last few months of embracing slow and letting go of all our obligations. This season of isolation has shown me what is really important. And the parent trap of doing everything out of obligation, driving from activity to event after event, is not what our children long for or truly need.
And they stayed home.