< Previous– 50 – PROSE & POETRY Prity Rani Deshwal This piece of writing is a realization which I experienced during covid-19 pandemic, that sometimes, even in the worst timings when your loved ones are not nearby to motivate and support you as many of us experienced in this covid-19 pandemic. During these timings, we all have that one inner voice deep down within us which kept us motivating to push ourselves little more towards hope to come out of those worst timings. Drowning in something deep and deeper A horrified ocean of my sorrows Tides of my failures not letting me float Even pushing me deeper into the dark. Wishing it to be a dream My heart and mind both arguing to each other If it is not a dream How my end can be written in this way. Lifting my hands for a hope But Knowing the bitter truth of this world Deep down my soul is already shattered. Everything seems black here Maybe I reached to the deepest one All senses are taking a farewell now Not in condition, so can hold them back As I accepted this as my destiny Things are getting silent and calm. When I lost all hopes Something unusual happened. Oh, did I really hear something A loud and rhythmic sound hits my ears Repeating the same thing again and again “Push yourself harder” But deep down here how I can hear. That voice was so confident It made me push myself harder to the surface I realized the voice which saved me It was somewhere inside me It was my “Inner Voice”. Inner Voice– 51 – Alan Garrigan I feel that in this time of corona virus and new catastrophic variants, what we really need is mindfulness because there is much to be learned and great truth in positive thought in times of uncertainty and exception (ex capre). In our contemporary world, a constant flux and dromology of flows, we ought to vie for ‘Moments of Zen’ like my, 1 page, “”acrostic poem””. Regards Alan Garrigan Redeem, present moment, absolute certainty, earth is enriched, no need to contend, earth is your friend Ascend, slow process, designated breath, feel the air, create harmony, remember this, follow your bliss, Design, grand atlas of positivity, consciousness seeks forgiveness, unlike anyone else, you are a life in itself Ignite, graceful archangel, who watches, maintains your sacred geometry, stays resolute, defines your truth Absolve, multitudes, become electric, omnipresent, sustain your querencia, you are alive, seek to go thrive Testify, noble carbon spirit, cruising divine utopia, cultivate soul work, find tranquillity, live your prophecy Emancipate, elegant body, temporary arrangement, boundless, heaven’s infinite possibility, achieve serenity Moment of Zen PROSE & POETRY– 52 – PROSE & POETRY Carlos Lemos During the COVID-19 pandemic, laboratory professionals have been tiressly working to provide critical testing, sometimes facing personnel strains and supply-chain shortages. Clinical laboratories play an essential role in COVID-19 diagnosis, performing the detection of SARS-CoV-2 through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Each cycle of the PCR proceeds through distinct phases (denaturation, primer annealing and extension) that recall the motions of a loom, during theweaving process. After the fleecy swab is unwoven, Heddles rise and fall over the warp, Making the slender braid unwind. Then, a shuttle moving back and forth, Carries the filling yarn across the weft. Needle, needle sharp and swift, Double, tripple stitch along the woof And the threads once again enlace and tye. The Parcae spin and snap the human thread, They twist the strand of life between their fingers, Shedding, picking, beating-up, Shedding, picking, beating-up. We hear, at distance, the ride of the Valkyries: Hojotoho! Hojotoho! Heiaha! Heiaha! Their woof grows up with war’s alarms, A sword as shuttle, arrows as reels, The warp stretched for warriors’ fall. Our days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, Only Ariadne’s thread can guide our way Throughout the labyrinth where the monstre hides. Meanwhile, Penelope sews and weaves: The faithfull wife can have no rest While Odisseus struggles at the battlefront, And ploughs the waves in hollow ships. Until the war is over, the wandering accomplished, We know not for how long, the loom weaves, Until the last stich is bound off in the cloth. The Loom– 53 – PROSE & POETRY Carlos Lemos In the epigraph of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, we read that “there are more invisible than visible Beings in the universe”. During the pandemic of COVID-19, we have witnessed how a microscopic virus can cause such tremendous devastation, spreading in subsequent waves, with an overflow of people infected and deceased. The Waves When the cloud of contagious droplets Started falling as an endless rain, Drop by drop, a sea was formed That the shores could not contain. The streams flew along the road, Flooding every corner and square, People run, looking for shelter: Waves and water, everywhere. The waves prevailed upon the earth, Broken the fountains of the sky, No ark to save us, two and two, All were afraid to drown and die. One wave hastened after another, Springing up across the land, Rows of horses furiously galloping, Tossing their mane through the sand. The waves have come with sound and fury, With the sound of a waterspout. Thunders rumbled like a drum And the wind was roaring out. Healthcare workers – doctors, nurses – Full of courage went outside, In an attempt to save their patients From being dragged by the tide. Dressed in waterproof oilcloth, The brave members of this crew, Facing the perils of the ocean, Tried to make our ship pass through. Fearing neither wind or billow, Tirelessly rowing, without rest, We departed from safe haven, Like a bird far from his nest. The boat was risen to the high, The waves plunged down the prow. When they arched over us, We could see the abyss bellow. At the bottom of the ocean We’ve seen no shell nor coral wonder: Just the hulks of wrecked ships That waves have broken asunder. When, at length, hope as glimmered Like a lighthouse spreading its light, Clouds were gathering on the horizon, Blurred the clearness of our sight. We thought the waves would withdraw, Finally leave the harbor cleared, When the flow enhanced its strength And another wave appeared. When the wave breaks on the shore And we stare its mirrored surface, We glimpse the reflex of this pandemic: The suffering upon the human race.– 54 – PROSE & POETRY Katarina Rebrosova 2021. A terrifying virus ruling the world. People are hiding in their homes, few brave ones are fighting in the front line. Empty streets, empty parks, where to find some human hearts? Human faces just on-screen – strangest thing I´ve ever seen... Meeting someone – out the line! Plug yourself in, chat online. Take your smartphone out of pocket, You need no-one, but a socket. Being close, but always far, gives one´s soul a new scar. Dreadful tension in the air, it´s not just quiet, smiles are rare... „Wake up, people!“ wanna scream, will we end this scary dream? Where is power? Where is love? People touch just through a glove... And here comes out one strong feeling: Will we ever get the healing? In the rain and wind we stand. Come on, live! It´s not the end! Feel your sorrows, feel your pain. It is you – just don´t restrain. Listen, human, to your heart – it´s still beating, singing loud. We´re not machines, we´re not slaves, take a deep breath, leave the caves! See the beauty, feel the love, turn your face to sky above. The sun still rises in the east, you have strength to kill the beast! Look at yourself in a mirror: the world needs you, you ´re a hero! The 2021 OdysseyJoin us in 2023! ECCMID Art Gallery 2023 ‘Not just COVID’ We look forward to seeing your creative works in the ECCMID Art Gallery for 2023! A call for artwork will be made in late 2022 for infection- related artworks, be they photography, paintings, drawings, sculpture, poetry or short stories. See you in the gallery!Next >