Connect Online Exhibition – Page 2
Chris Shaw
Bird song
Please listen to the audio and read the poem at the same time.
Virus Blues
Earth
04.05.2020 4.30am.
Life goes on, for most
through a great emotional uncertainty
The birds, they are all still singing
each note for a person remembered.
We will sing again
and speak of these times,
Of the utmost dedication
and of the community that was found amid our isolation
But we should not forget
by returning to the faces of disregard
and the interests of self.
Life is to share
between us all
and with our natural world,
We know it can be.
So why don’t we, now,
For all of them
and those still giving.
–
After waking and hearing the dawn chorus.

Shadow of self
Photograph
Conrad Johnson
Daniela Labosova
Denise Brandrith
Dinah Kazakoff
Emma Donaldson
Fanoulla Georgiou
Facebook @fanoullageogiouart
Instagram @Fanoulla_Georgiou_Art
Curtain Call
Spinning words
And watching
the hours
Tired,
But happy
As I gaze from
My space
In the hotel
Tower,
Illuminated
Tapestries of
purples
And
Whites,
Yellows that wink
And blink
In the night
It’s 3am,
USA time
But my head
Says
It’s 8
And it’s already
Late!
Right there,
Outside,
The whole wide
New York
world
Behind
The
Wall of
Glass,
And
Gleams
With choirs
Of colour
As if it
knows
my
Wishes
And
Dreams.
In the distance
In dense,
pink
Shadows
Police sirens
Whine,
And the blue
Light
Shines
And turns
The rising
Steam of the
manholes
Into
Mists of
Ultramarine,
Like a film
Set,
Against
A backdrop
Of concrete
Textures,
Veils of
Wavering
Colours,
Wrought
Iron
Steps
And
Manhattan’s
Special
Effects!
It’s all laid out,
Each part
Each take
A movie scene,
My own big
Screen
My very own clip;
Spot lit
In indigos
And greens,
Where words
And scripts
Do not
Exist
for everyone
Has a
Leading role
Every
Background
Every
Age,
To
Perform
On
New York’s
Theatre
Stage
Tonight’s
The night,
The final
Night
When
I step off
The
Platform,
Away
From the
Limelight
From
The city’s
Heart beat
Walking
Off it’s
Streets
My
Journey’s
Performance
Is now
Complete
Manhattan’s
The place
To put dreams
In action
Here,
In the
Big Apple
You’re
The main
Attraction
In the meantime
It’s a
Short term
Disconnection
I take a bow
New York
Bows too
What a
Place!
But wait
There’s
The
Encore
And
It’s
Happening
Soon
I stand
I applaud you!
Manhattan;
Another
Bow;
But,
For me
It’s
Farewell
It’s
Goodbye
For now
Francis Salvesen
George W Stewart & Bert Verso
Gill Arthey
A Letter to Covid-19
Coronavirus, Covid-19, you’ve left our world reeling from droplets unseen.
No one’s protected from your ravaging path, wondering how it’ll be in the aftermath.
Scientists race to test new drugs, and volunteers work to sew more scrubs.
We’re clapping for the NHS and watching Captain Tom, why do tears come so easily?
I’m usually so strong.
I’ve yet to meet my first grandchild, and I’ve missed her first smiles,
We see you through the airwaves, but you’re oh so far in miles.
I try not to think too much incase it makes me weep; and I long to just be there and watch you while you sleep.
I can’t wait to see your sweet face and to hold you in a warm embrace.
I wonder if your sky’s like mine, and wether you’re doing just fine.
Planting tubs; tidying in a frenzy, filling time so life doesn’t seem so empty.
I try new recipes which friends will one day eat; longing for the day we can finally meet.
In my dreams I dance all night to weird and mystical themes,
Familiar faces appearing in pixelated screens.
I miss my friends so much, and I long to keep in touch.
I’ve never given hugs for free, thinking why would they want one from me?
But to all my friends both near and far I’m going to make amends,
This promise is from me to you once distancing all ends.
But could this be the silver lining, our stars so brightly shining.
Planes grounded, the air so clear; perhaps there’s a light shining here!
Dolphins now own the bay, is it time to see things a different way?
Maybe the chance has come, for the world to see what we have done.
I now believe that the simple things are the ones to treasure most,
I’d love to just sit there and be beside the coast.
I hope our hearts will join as one and we will be the same,
When this is all over and we finally meet again.