In her series Life Under the Lens of Lockdown, Maggie Repp shares her reflections on her world during the pandemic.

In her graceful poem, “The Field,” she reflects on her daily walks during the crisis. Maggie said, “I’m getting so much joy out of going to the field every day and some evenings. It’s the one thing that has grounded me throughout this whole challenging time.”

The Field

By Maggie Repp

 

Resplendent in your bright yellow dress.
Mornings you greet me with your sweet fragrance
and playful smile.
Lighting up my face like buttercups once did long ago,
when I was a child.
Evenings, bejewelled and bedazzling,
as the sun comes to rest upon your horizon.
Your yellow spun to gold.

The field mouse and vole and the silly proud pheasant,
nesting within your bosom.
An orchestra of sparrows and finches,
starlings and wagtails,
rewarding you with their chorus of birdsong.
Like me, grateful for the refuge you provide.

Berlin
April 27, 2020

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In the second entry in Life Under the Lens During Lockdown, Maggie reflects on the wonders of a world grown small in her poem, “Wonderland.”

Wonderland

By Maggie Repp

My world is smaller now,
and yet magnified.
Days are void of plans,
but rich in sound and color.
The metallic buzzing of a bee,
overdressed in his black and yellow uniform.
The lazy wink of my dog’s eye,
as she bathes in the midday sun,
her soft ears reminiscent of a silk purse.
Ants who have found a playground
in the remnants of a discarded apple core,
taking a well-earned break from their earnest work.

Berlin
May 11, 2020