Looking Back on the Pandemic Year
What an indescribably challenging year this has been,
With a vicious pandemic like the world has never seen,
For many years before this point in history,
The year 2020 was shrouded in mystery,
Would it be the year that humankind gained 2020 vision?
Or the year that the world marks another major space mission?
One wondered whether we would have attained global peace by this time,
With artificial intelligence running the world at its very prime,
But instead, this year was sobering for us all.
As we realise that we are still really very small,
In the face of nature with all its force and invisible fury,
And as we attempt to live through the COVID story,
Paying tribute to those who have lost their lives this year,
As well as those who fight at the frontline without fear,
We know that advanced science is doing its very best,
To prevent and treat the disease that has put us all to test,
But aside from this we have also seen evolution,
As society has gone through a digital revolution,
And human beings have shown overflowing compassion and care,
Even as the odds have seemed to smirk and stare,
And we are minded to take much better care of our mother earth,
To preserve the planet for future generations to take birth,
And at a time that we are all physically apart from one another,
We have never been so connected or united together,
As we battle together all on the same side,
With faith that the pandemic will soon subside,
So perhaps, we have attained some 2020 vision after all said and done,
Reflecting on the year gone by and lighting candles of hope for the year that is now to come,
2020 we see you and hear you for we have humbly heeded your call,
And we ask 2021 to bring new and healthy horizons, for absolutely one and all!
By Professor Sumantra Ray
Founding Chair and Executive Director
NNEdPro Global Center for Nutrition and Health
St. John's Innovation Center
Crowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS, UK