The New Normal

By Nikita Gupta

What is the new normal?

A paradigm shift unprecedented and conventional

Marked by a dynamic and abrupt

Alteration of the very fabric of societal construct

The micro-organism so miniscule

Crippling the world, is here to rule

Tossing the lives upside-down

Pivoting the growth curve other way round

With social distancing being the new norm

Home has assumed the most integral form

Work, schooling, entertainment, all from respective abode

Cultivating a new culture down the road

All the official spaces devoid of the life force

The new way of life uncertain and coarse

Once action-packed terminals, now running vacant

Once bustling streets, now awfully silent

Scattered books n school uniforms, nowhere to see

Formals n Party wears in the closet with intact crease

The netbook is now the all-encompassing tool

With everyone turning into typing pool

Today, all n sundry is connected with the virtual chords

Striving to pull off everything, by all odds

The e-world is rooting transculturally

Expanding its horizons undisputedly

With shuttered businesses, revenues lowering

Salary cuts and furloughs are soaring

Whereas, expenses are ceaselessly growing

Along with fear of catching the virus roaring

Masks, sanitizers are the latest albeit requisite paraphernalia

Visiting the near and dear ones is prohibited, inter alia

Marriage ceremonies are now solitary affairs

Even funeral rituals are now bare

The lockdowns and restrictions had their own pros and cons

The masses with their inner-self, could make a séance

Some were able to embrace their homefolks again

On the contrary, few were driving each other crazy and insane

With people disinclined towards stepping out

The Mother Earth, with its flora n fauna was spared the time to breathe out

Pollution levels dropped to record low

As there is an ebb to every flow

Meteorically, every single city, the virus has riddled

Only with the well-tried vaccination, it can be bridled

Until then, to live with it, we have to brace ourselves

This is the new normal that dwells.

By Nikita Gupta