And I couldn't escape the waking dream
of infected fleas
in the warp and weft of soggy cloth
by the tailor's hearth
in ye olde Eyam.
Then couldn't un-see
the Boundary Stone,
that cock-eyed dice with its six dark holes,
thimbles brimming with vinegar wine
An indication of the impact of the past on the present. The speaker relates the two scenarios, of the plague in seventeenth century Derbyshire and the present day pandemic. Despite the passing centuries the speaker is drawn to the stories of the past.
Lockdown