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<\/a>By Radical Rhymes<\/strong><\/p>\nThis is for the doubters, the deniers and those people still refusing to take the Covid virus seriously\u2026<\/p>\n
It started with a terrible aching on the right side of my face, and a strange tingling at the back of my tongue \u2013 the kind I recall from my childhood after eating that popping candy, space dust was it? I\u2019m not certain. Anyway, it impacted on my taste buds and I did wonder then whether I might have it.<\/p>\n
But the aching passed, the taste buds reignited, and I reassured myself that it was just in my head, psychosomatic. I was like the protagonist from Three Men in a Boat, imagining the worst from a position of anxiety.<\/p>\n
Then, about a week later, my youngest son\u2019s girlfriend tested positive. Someone in her class at school had kindly passed it on to her. Two more cases followed, one as a result of a parent sending a child even though their sibling was positive. I felt insanely angry.<\/p>\n
Predictably, my youngest developed symptoms. He is fifteen years old, virtually a professional athlete and the fittest person I\u2019ve ever known, and the virus floored him. He tested positive and so did the rest of my family.<\/p>\n
And then the symptoms hit me. Intense internal heat, like Greek fire that simply wouldn\u2019t be extinguished. I couldn\u2019t stop shivering, every inch of me was frozen and yet also ablaze. I went to bed and slept for hours straight and woke in a pool of sweat. I couldn\u2019t think of eating and it was as much as I could do to take on a basic amount of fluid.<\/p>\n
I was delirious at times. I woke one morning and painted a picture of Welsh Miners I\u2019d been meaning to do for a while. Afterwards I barely recall doing it. It was like a dream. I forced myself to paint through a bitter fog.<\/p>\n
And after days of this I started coughing. A dry, tickly cough that seemed to have no trigger or form of its own. It was annoying, wearisome. Seemingly endless. On Christmas morning the dizziness hit me hard. I almost passed out as I tried to stand, the day was pleasant, but we were all going through the motions.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been weeks now and still the tiredness is profound. I haven\u2019t been able to exercise or work properly. I find down time difficult, so I\u2019ve done bits and pieces but nothing major. The energy and will just aren\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
We have all been roundly knocked about by this virus, but given its dreadful toll on people around the world, I am truly thankful that we are all okay. We\u2019ve come through it. We are lucky.<\/p>\n
So, please, for me, wear a mask. Don\u2019t gather in huge groups. Respect this virus because it is a killer. It is real.<\/strong><\/em> It has a cost even for the lucky ones. Go into the New year with hope and caution. And, this is the most serious plea I can make, stop voting for Right Wing governments. They don\u2019t care whether you live or die, they only live for profit. Please, I beg you, don\u2019t let them benefit from your hardships anymore.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for a new dawn\u2026<\/p>\n Radical Rhymes is a professional artist working with a range of media – predominantly animal\/human portraits and landscapes – including, most recently, hand painted furniture. You can see his work on Instagram Radicalrhymes1969 or on Twitter @RhymesRadical.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n