Lockdown
The world.
The absolute degree of its representation
All the shapes of it.
Until now it was approximately
only an idea of what lay underneath
Formed and shaped
by waters – deep,
and vibrant,
and blue.
Borders
The whole world started
looking different
Its elegance had faltered
the vivid and dynamic shapes
have become a geometric figure –
sharp and distinct borders
unpassable
unless you’re one of those
who draw them.
You imitate a life
lived before,
before you realized
that borders have always been
as sharp as now.
They were just on the maps,
and now they are in your life.
You are not a global citizen
anymore.
You are caught on the Lockdown
which represents the virtual planet
you have to settle down
without leaving your own place.
Armed with a cup of tea
and a high-speed internet connection,
you are to enter and to celebrate
the e-phase of your so-called life.
Dana is an Erasmus student from Hamburg, Germany, and originally from Kazakhstan. She is studying English Linguistics and says she is happy to be here, even if only for one semester during COVID-19.
When the pandemic first started, she was trapped in a foreign country and had the urgent feeling to return back ‘home’, but couldn’t. In that situation of waiting for return flights and lifting of lockdown restrictions, it occurred to her that sometimes despite the inability to change the situation at hand, time is always ours to make the best of. Her poetry recalls those trapped feelings within borders she was not aware of. She writes of adjusting to the rapid changes occurring in the world and details her struggles with adapting to a new reality.
