March 2020 – The world stopped. Rather, humanity was under the impression that the world stopped. The world stopped spinning many months before. Societies in regression, finances in stagnation. People across the globe slippin’ deeper and deeper into depression. Everything slowin’ to a halt. Slowin’ … to … a … halt … December 2019 – The world stopped. The world turns a blind eye to Wuhan – No one had a hand on this scary situation. No one could understand what was going on across the land; Across the oceans and the ravines and everything in between. People just dying for unknown reasons; Moms, pops, sistahs and bruddas droppin’ dead like flies, Innocent lives ending from a deadly virus in disguise. Death rippin’ through Asia and Europe but not close enough to home to pay them no mind; Ain’t no money to pay for a damn thing – Where’s the heart? Where’s the soul? Where’s the love for humanity? Coronavirus rippin’ through countries – Coronavirus killin’ from coast to coast. From east to west, from north to south. From sea to shining sea. Ain’t nothing shiny about this bloody sea; You see – people of all shapes and sizes and ages and colours droppin’ dead like flies. How do you find beauty amongst this senseless death? How do you find hope amongst this senseless death while humanity is put to the test? People with so many goals and aspirations takin’ their last breath. March 2020 – The world stopped. States sealed off, countries closed down. The world as we know it stopped dead in its tracks. Political leaders from every walk of life not knowing how to run their own damn country. A crisis like this has not been seen in generations upon generations – Ben Willis Photography
Generations
upon generations laid up in hospital beds and deep
inside graves and families grieving and hoping and praying for a miracle…
Some countries slappin’ a twelve hundred dollar Band-Aid on the scars of hopeless citizens, Meanwhile unemployment numbers skyrocketing, confidence levels plummeting; Other countries facing reality head-on with programs and finances to keep citizens above water. People from every background banding together to help out their fallen kin. People from every walk of life banding together in spite of their government. Strangers giving their last penny to help out strangers. Strangers reaching out across the aisle to help their struggling neighbour whether blue or red or purple or rainbow; Strangers going above and beyond their call of duty – Call that love. Call that compassion. Call that flippin’ the bird to governments all across the globe. Call that human beings being human. Meanwhile political figures politicizing survival. Political figures seeming like our rival; Where’s the shock value in that? Where’s the shock value in governments turning a blind eye to the struggles and injustices that we face every day? Where’s the shock value in suffering financially and mentally and emotionally and physically and spiritually during a crisis? We was struggling before this. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and natural disasters of all kinds. We was struggling way before this. Economic recessions, poverty, pain and turmoil the world over. We was struggling way before this. Diseases, infections, illnesses and now a pandemic. We was banning together way before this. We was banning together way before this. We will overcome. We have no choice but to overcome.12