Article The Light of Lessons from Covid’s Dirge
Kathleen King
“Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud/Turn forth her silver lining on the night?” John Milton’s 1634 poem (masque) included these stirring words, sparking our imagination of the bright side. Today we must dare to hear whispers of hope amidst Covid-19’s dirge, silver linings amidst shattered plans, lessons learned from empty classrooms, deeper love found in empty hugs. Covid has been a somber song, filled with loss, yet its reverberations can stir us to lives rebuilt by the gilded wisdom of our sorrows. First, we have discovered an appreciation for the unseen joys of our lives: our connection with those we love. What might have been an inconvenient trip to visit grandparents is now a joy we yearn to revisit. The gut-wrenching ache of holding a loved one’s hand in a hospital room is now a privilege we ache to have restored. A meal shared with friends, a birthday party for the kids, voices rising in communal prayer, a concert of swaying fans—all these are gifts we may have taken for granted but savor anew. We are the Who’s of Whoville left with the packages, ribbons, and bows, yearning to gather instead in the communal circle of connection with those we love. Perhaps our hearts have grown three sizes from Covid’s grinchly touch. Second, we have reimagined education. The stagnant march towards integration of technology in education SPRING 2021 | VOLUME 67 | NUMBER 1 | PAGE 68
