When darkness loomed overhead: A poem by Vaishali Chandorkar Chitale

I paused mid-step in my tread as darkness loomed overhead 
Always an optimist, I knew from this too I will be blithely led.
Life had thrown me curved ball
As was my want, I knew I could stonewall it.
A pandemic had taken over the world,
Despair and gloom had all over unfurled.
There was no other option but to remain positive,
Though to be safe, you had to test negative.
All it took was one trip to the stores,
For me to wind up behind the closed doors.
The word quarantine had now entered our sphere
To be alive and well, its rules we now had to adhere.
Sanitise, Sanitise was all that I heard,
Till it became the tale of the absurd.
Washing my hands to prune-like appearance,
I cursed the dreaded virus jolly good riddance.
Fourteen days of worry and anxiety,
Can easily ruin anyone’s sanity.
Deciding to deal with it head-on,
I battled with it and emerged stronger in days beyond. 
Alone with my musings, life took an exceptional turn,
Words bubbled out like liquid from an urn.
My jottings on living and thriving under a threat,

Found a pride of place in an International health gazette.