Matthew Bird, Maddie Craig, Sarah MacAllan & Emily Riley
It’s a new year, which has unfortunately brought with it a new lockdown. However, at Impact, we are trying to stay positive! This is why, for this month’s Creative Showcase, the Arts and Science sections have decided to collaborate to bring you a collection of pieces inspired by ‘Solutions’, with a further emphasis on positive solutions to the climate crisis. Here is what our contributors came up with.
The Regeneration in Post-Its
Matthew Bird
Simple Solutions for When Worlds are Wounded
In the year of twenty-twenty,
My days were pretty empty,
Socialising stopped and contact was forbidden,
Smiles became masked and certainty was hidden,
Slogans kept shifting – I can’t remember them all,
‘Hands, Face, Space’ was catchy, so I thought that might be cool,
It reminded me of clubbing because it sounded like a dance,
In reality it was serious – my hopes didn’t stand a chance,
Alas, pubs reopened, so I forgot about my fears,
I was safe until ten pm, then things ended in tiers.
In the year of twenty-twenty,
My weeks were pretty empty,
Family feuds festered at dangerous rates,
So I endeavoured to escape conflicts by Zooming with my mates,
I learnt to cope with tensions in an unconventional way,
As storming out was legal only once a day,
Siri was my Problem-Solver, he was quite a helpful bloke,
Alexa was my Agony Aunt, comforting me with jokes,
But Instagram and Facebook mocked my static situation,
Posts paraded Prosperity, which fuelled my frustration.
In the year of twenty-twenty,
My months were pretty empty,
Once I put on trainers, contemplating sport,
But when I peered outside, I was horrified at the thought,
I watched lots of TV, when desperate I picked up a book,
I didn’t expect to read it, but I thought I’d have a look,
Instead, I restyled my image, starting with my hair,
I shaved myself a mullet, dyed it blonde everywhere,
Inevitably, it went ginger, my parents said I was crazy,
I was ‘just trying to look edgy!’, like a modern Patrick Swayze.
Then the year of twenty-twenty was beginning to feel like a decade,
Finally, twenty-one arrived and I assumed there’d be an upgrade,
So far life seems the same – we’re stuck with the Blonde Buffoon,
Still, politicians promise better, not long until we’re immune,
Is the new year truly hopeful, with Brexit getting ‘done’?
One shitshow at a time please, let’s not jump the gun…
Maddie Craig
Illustration by Sarah MacAllan
Climate Crisis Under the Sea
Emily Riley
Featured image courtesy of Thierry Meier via unsplash.com. Image license can be found here. Article images courtesy of Sarah MacAllan, Emily Riley and Matthew Bird.
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