Lancashire actress (and Northern Soul favourite) Julie Hesmondhalgh has recorded a poem in a bid to raise awareness and funds for Accrington-based charity, Maundy Relief.
Two Metres Apart, written by East Lancashire writer Jo Dearden, highlights the ways in which the COVID-19 crisis has brought people in the UK together and asks if this sentiment will continue once lockdown is over and everyday life starts to return to normal. Maundy Relief provides a range of services for those in need, including counselling for those in mental distress, companionship for the lonely, food parcels for the hungry, housing for the homeless, and advice for those battling bureaucracy. The charity aims to provide an immediate and non-judgemental response to those in poverty and distress.
Scroll to the bottom of this article for the video.
Main image: Julie Hesmondhalgh (image credit: Elspeth Moore)
Two Metres Apart
by Jo Dearden
Before this corona thing started,
nobody minded the gap
of food banks and zero hour contracts
You never heard anyone clap
And yes, we all panicked, divided
as the shelves in the stores were stripped bare
The haves stashed some more in their pantries,
have-nots went without their fair share
But then we all had to take notice
of the starkest advice, which was sound
Stay six feet apart, horizontal
or six feet apart, underground
Because…
…this bug doesn’t care if you’re famous
with status or wealth to your name
A body, is a body, is a body
Everyone’s cells are fair game
The prince, cocooned in his castle
The lass on the till in the store
The doctor, the bin man, the banker
The guy with a 10 on his door
And while we are caught in this moment,
trapped in the here and the now
This crisis has brought us together
in so many ways, and here’s how
It’s made us appreciate people
who can’t just pop round any more
We Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp and House Party
and leave bags of food by the door
It’s brought us much closer to Nature
To bright moons, to birdsong and snails
Hedge funds are now being managed
by goats in Llandudno in Wales
And it’s made us give thanks for the small things
those green shoots that reach for the sun
A reminder that Spring can’t be locked down
and ‘life’ really does carry on
Nature
Neighbours
Family
Workers who are key
All in this together
You
And them
And me
Right…?
So when this corona thing’s over
and the safety net’s been packed away
do the ‘needy’ turn back into scroungers
on seventy pounds ESA?
Or will there be change for the better?
Will we each save a space in our heart
and remember the time we felt closer
When we all stood two metres apart.
…
Find out more about Maundy Relief and the work it does here. If you would like to donate to Maundy Relief, you can do so here.
