Thank You

 

She leaned back in the chair and released the biggest sigh
And as she turned her head an angry tear fell from her eye.
Her heart was oh so heavy from the pain that she had seen
But she dared not show her feelings from behind the safety screen.

Her hands were dry and rough with some fingers red and cracked,
So very tight and painful from the moisture that they lacked.
All that careful cleansing had left its angry mark,
The reason for such cleanliness was oh so grave and stark.

Every day was different and yet every day the same;
People suffering, dying, the only difference was their name.
She was tired beyond measure and her heart was truly breaking,
This was the very worst, of that there was just no mistaking.

How could anyone explain just what had come to be?
You only had to look at her, the signs so clear to see.
That year she went to hell and back, a wealth of hurt and strife,
Countless months of misery and pain had scarred her life.

She thought about the milestone of 100,000 lives,
It wounded her as if they'd been 100,000 knives.
100,000 humans, she thought about that number.
Too many people had no choice in their eternal slumber.

She thought about the families who were changed for ever more,
The victims of a virus that they'd never known before.
She wondered how there could be doubt, they didn't have a clue,
100,000 people dead to testify it's true.

There came a sudden knock which produced her practised smile.
The clerk had brought some letters in in some dischevelled pile.
Although her heart was heavy she opened up the first,
What greeted her was magical, her heart was fit to burst.

Suddenly the burden of the world had somehow lifted,
The words inside and sentiment had been so warmly gifted.
Kindness and support will help us all to battle through -
It was a card from loved ones which simply said, "thank you."