When the pandemic struck
there were protests,
food was in short supply,
money was in short supply,
hair dressers, nail salons,
clothing stores, even toilet paper
was in short supply.

Weeks, then months went by.
Hair grew long, clothes grew ragged,
people grew restless.
They began hearing voices
in the stale silence
of their stay-at-homes,
an ancestral whisper that grew
louder by the day.

There were late night gatherings
in the forest.
Curfews were broken.
There were sightings
of naked creatures
running on all fours.

When the pandemic eased,
many homes were found to be empty,
coffee mugs half full,
cigarettes left to burn to ash,
a trail of clothes to the nearest woods.