To make the world a safer place...

A small child struggles to catch a breath;

His mother pulls his mask over his nose.

To make the world a safer place.

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A lonely woman whiles away her days in a dark room.

No visitors allowed.

To make the world a safer place.

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A man breathes his last dying breath;

His family is forced to watch on from a distance.

To make the world a safer place.

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A nurse works hard through a pandemic;

In return, she is dismissed for saying “no” to a medication she doesn’t need.

To make the world a safer place.

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A boy is deprived of two years of education;

And set back for life.

To make the world a safer place.

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A first-time father sits in his cold car as his wife gives birth

Because of hospital protocols.

To make the world a safer place.

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Public testimony before a Senate hearing

Is scrubbed from Youtube

To make the world a safer place.

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An elderly couple sit ensconced in N95 masks on a park bench,

Because the media put the fear of God into them.

To make the world a safer place.

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A teacher feels suffocated as he shouts through his mask;

His principal warns him to mask up, or lose his job.

To make the world a safer place.

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A couple of newly-weds sit down for a coffee;

Their heart sink as the waitress recites, “Where is your QR Code?”

To make the world a safer place.

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A doctor desperately wants to cure his patients;

Hospital authorities force him to watch them die.

To make the world a safer place.

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A family just wants to see their sick daughter;

The hospital denies them access because they’re unvaccinated.

To make the world a safer place.

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A family business opens its doors, just to keep going;

Neighbours report them to the authorities.

To make the world a safer place.

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A patient struggles for breath, and begs for relief;

Doctors say their hands are tied by drug regulators.

To make the world a safer place.

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A lecturer is pushed out of her job

For exercising her right to informed consent

To make the world a safer place.

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A family wants to emigrate in search of freedom;

But their government won’t let them leave.

To make the world a safer place.

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An infant struggles to find meaning in a face;

But is enveloped in a sea of unexpressive masks.

To make the world a safer place.

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A healthy athlete collapses with heart palpitations

After a game.

To make the world a safer place.

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A deaf woman wants to read lips, and understand,

But all lips are concealed from her.

To make the world a safer place.

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A son in perfect health longs to see his parents;

But border testing doubles his travel costs.

To make the world a safer place.

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A young woman is desperate to find hope and warmth,

But she can’t even go for a coffee because she doesn’t have a Covid Pass.

To make the world a safer place.

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A teenage girl throws herself out a window

Because not seeing her friends anymore tipped her over the edge.

To make the world a safer place.

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