Colleague's COVID poem goes viral on the internet

Poem

A spur of the moment poem, reflecting on the past year and penned by one of our very own EEAST colleagues, is being shared worldwide by thousands on social media.

‘United in Hope’ was written by Dave Tamarro, Leading Operations Manager (LOM) from Luton as he struggled to get to sleep one night.

‘I don’t mind admitting, until this happened I hadn’t written a poem since I was eight years old,’ said Dave. ‘On 10th January I was having a sleepless night. I was lying there with my mind racing, thinking about all sorts of things, including Covid and the vaccine, it got to about 1am and I just felt like I needed to write all my thoughts down. I sat there and just started writing, getting everything I was thinking down and as soon as it was done I went straight to sleep. I know it sounds strange but it just felt like I’d said everything I needed to.’

‘The next day, I constructed the poem from what I’d written down. I read it to a colleague and, instead of the usual laughing and joking we have, they told me it really struck a chord with how they were feeling.  I decided to share it on my Facebook page and from there it just snowballed. It’s been shared far and wide in its thousands across social media. I’ve had messages, not just from people in the UK, but others in Australia and Canada telling me how much it resonated with them.

‘To be honest, I feel really taken aback by it. ‘United in Hope’ was just about me trying to express my own thoughts and feelings, but it’s lovely that it means something to so many others as well.’

A poem by Dave Tamarro, Leading Operations Manager (LOM)

Published 29th January 2021