Skip to main content
jasbennett
23rd October 2020

Two Poems by Amatullah Hayat

Amatullah Hayat’s two poems muse on the interaction between lockdown and time
Categories:
TLDR
Two Poems by Amatullah Hayat
Photo by Swag Photography @ Unsplash

Poem 1:

I’m stuck at home with time to spare

The world is ending but I don’t care

What do I eat or wear? 

Should I even brush my hair?

I’m losing my mind! I might go break a chair,

I could do so much, but creativity is rare 

‘Will I make it through?’ I ask in despair 

I’m stuck at home —, it isn’t fair 

Poem 2: 

What do I do with all this time?

I ask myself to no reply.

Devoid of choice I try to write,

ideas are formed, the ink is dry

I look down but feel only strife

Anger ensues, I begin to cry

I’m perplexed, why doesn’t it feel right?

Confined to a room, I look up at the sky

I wait for a sign, it takes all night

A horizon looms, it was all a lie 

I draw the blinds, desperate to hide

Confronted with thoughts, I shut my eyes

I made it through the day; what a ride.

Amatullah is a first-year student studying Law with Criminology at the University of Manchester. She is from Birmingham but grew up abroad, and enjoys films, reading, writing, and anything that allows her to question her own knowledge.
She wrote the first poem a few weeks after the lockdown began, after the initial excitement of having so much free time wore off. The poem is about the mundanity of those days, and how they blended. The merging days made it harder to have a routine, do simple or creative tasks, and make each day feel different from the last. These feelings of internal struggle caused the frustration visible in her work.
‘Poem 2’ discusses how lockdown forced people to confront emotions and internal issues, while no longer being able to be distracted. However, those emotions ultimately lead the poet to a feeling of gratitude that the time was beneficiary.
Jasmine Bennett

Jasmine Bennett

More Coverage

Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore and Ellen Conlan Ellis’ new collaborative series for The Mancunion explores Roman mythology in a brand new way
The Moor – Freya Thomson

The Moor – Freya Thomson

‘The Moor’ is a short tragedy by Freya Thomson about losing a sibling, set against the backdrop of the infamous Saddleworth Moor
Nocturnal – Tom Branfoot

Nocturnal – Tom Branfoot

One of Manchester’s finest young poets, Tom Branfoot, explores the liminal sense of darkness in new poem ‘Nocturnal’
Lockdown Poem – Lucy Johnson

Lockdown Poem – Lucy Johnson

In our final piece of lockdown writing, Lucy Johnson’s poem is a poignant piece about distance during the pandemic

Popular Articles