The Spiders of Reality: Life under Covid

This poem was written in September 2020 by an asylum-seeker from Iran living in Swansea about life under Covid. In September 2021 she recited it for Covid Chronicles. It is a poignant exploration of the existential shift in consciousness imposed on us by Covid, government and restrictions – the growing unconsciousness demanded of us about the daily deaths. The poem alludes to the fact that for many asylum-seekers, already living in a kind of limbo of isolation, confinement was especially hard -and all that was possible was to peer through the curtains woven by the spiders of reality. She also conveys beautifully the shifts in our daily embodied experiences wrought by physical and social distancing and how this generated the wearing of many different kinds of masks – physical and emotional – to hide our feelings and selves. The poem expresses the longing and desire for a return to friendship, warmth, kindness and sociability.

The poet preferred to remain anonymous, translations made by Shahsavar Rahmani with Tom Cheesman. Tom also created the digital poem.