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Home News UK

Zoom

A poem about using Zoom

Suzanne Fairless-AitkenbySuzanne Fairless-Aitken
23-07-2021 11:59 - Updated On 23-03-2022 17:49
in UK
Reading Time: 1 min
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Photo by Gabriel Benois on Unsplash

Photo by Gabriel Benois on Unsplash

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Not the Armitage poem, 
more a Beckett play,
staged in rows 
like The Muppet Shows.
Am in some kind of digital purgatorio -
or Waiting Room -  as it is known.
Pondering background choices:
Smart - bookshelves 
Witty - a pub
Serious - black-framed Art
Lockdown breach -  Barnard Castle.
Anything but the spare-room drums.
'Can you hear me?'
'Is there anybody there?'
Ghostly fragments: careful not to wake the dead.
Speaker View or Gallery? 
How long can I look interested for?
Am I even blinking?
Too many questions;
not enough answers.
Too easily Muted by Host. 
I text notes at the back of class
to friend in her box
making her laugh. 
Stop Video.
Reconnecting,
listening face switched on, pencil poised,
notes seen to be taken.
Surely this could be put in an email?
Breakout Room sounds good.
Hurry up please it's time!
Well, 40 minutes.
A final round of goodbyes,
back to our contactless contact.
Note to self:
MUST work on meeting-exit-face.
Is this lockdown Game Over?
End Meeting for All

Suzanne Fairless-Aitken
Tags: Culture
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Suzanne Fairless-Aitken

Suzanne Fairless-Aitken

Suzanne Fairless-Aitken is a mum from Hexham, who was recently elected as Northumberland County Councillor & Hexham Town Councillor for the LibDems. She works for international poetry publisher, Bloodaxe Books, and also runs her own editing company, Swift Permissions. In her murky past she has been a school governor, activist and campaigner for education, green issues, anti-austerity and anti-corruption. She writes in any spare time she can find.

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