Just Another Journey Through Our Pandemic

• Chloe Jackson, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2021

Days get longer and longer as the time ‘till freedom gets shorter and shorter,
This seemingly never-ending loop of hiding away from the world I was born to live in.
It's this feeling of being close to what you want but being just a little too far to grab a hold of it.
I asked a question whispered into the universe, ‘Why now?’ yet there was no response.
The feeling of loneliness comes to mind as I write, lost emotions, lost friendships.
I walk the path of this never-ending road, this road that’s my path to freedom. Yet I must push through.
The surrounding fog won't clear, it's coming closer and closer to my eyes,
Then it hits, I can't see anything, I’m alone and out of sight from anyone.
I must fight, I must find hope through this mist, someone has to be here, someone, anyone I shout into the void, ‘Help...’,
But silence and my own echo are all I have as a reply.
I must not, giving up is telling the world you're okay with suffering, giving up is a sign of weakness, I am not weak.
I continue to walk down this unseeable road,
I see a light, a blue light, a blue light in the clouds of fog.
The light is becoming brighter and brighter as I start to jog. This jog turns into a run, a run into a sprint, a sprint into-
The light, it was the blue sky I was craving to reach. A blue sky in my backyard, with the people who love me sharing a meal.
Everything I’ve been through took me here, I believe it was worth it.
So, as I wait for freedom, I guarantee myself that I will see my loved ones again.