What Covid Took From Me...asking for feedback/critique
I lived in a skilled nursing facility for three years due to complications from MS. I was one of the youngest people there, but made a lot of friends.
When Covid hit, the facility was shut down completely. We couldn't leave, and no visitors could come in. Communal activities were stopped, and at one point, we were no longer allowed to leave our rooms except for an hour of therapy.
Unfortunately, in December of last year, Covid got in anyway. I nearly died, but survived. 11 of my good friends were not so lucky.
My voice was shot. I couldn't pick up my guitar. I was at one of the lowest points of my life.
The activities director, Melissa Ozment, wrote me this song to try to get me back to my music. She asked me to put music to it, and the process of doing so helped to heal me. She put my name on the copyright, so I am free to share it.
In memory of Ms. Ruth, Ms. Mabel, Mr. Chester, and Mr. Melvin...and so many more. It really captures what it was like for all of us who were trapped in these nursing homes.
https://youtu.be/RQqgA9-68yc
What Covid Took From Me
The door’s covered with plastic sheets
The nurses all wear PPE.
We lay there silent in our beds,
Every moment full of dread.
Death comes stealing down the halls.
One by one my good friends fall.
I cannot breathe,
I cannot cry.
I just wait for my turn to die.
That’s what Covid took from me.
My old friend Ruth, the Bingo Queen.
Mister Mel, who loved his Cokes.
Old Man Chester and his smokes.
Sweet Miss Mable in her chair
God, how I wish she was still there.
All the folks I used to see.
They’re what Covid took from me.
Now we play Bingo in the halls,
Instead of in the old game room.
It’s really not much fun at all
But at least there’s something left to do.
No parties now, no gatherings.
I wear a mask and try to sing.
But there’s no music left in me.
That’s what Covid took from me.
We stay six feet apart all day.
Much more than lonely you could say.
I try not to think about it much.
But I’d sell my soul for just one touch.
I see my family through glass doors.
Call their phones, but I need more.
All my friends and family.
That’s what Covid took from me.
People try to cheer us up.
But there’s nothing they can do.
Someday those doors will open up
And let us out, and people through.
Till then I guess I will survive.
That’s about all I can do.
Until that freedom day arrives,
I’ll have to try to make it through.
Without what Covid took from me.
What Covid took from me,
My old friend Ruth, the Bingo Queen.
Mister Mel, who loved his Cokes.
Old Man Chester and his smokes.
Sweet Miss Mable in her chair
God, how I wish she was still there.
All my friends and family
They’re what Covid took from me.