A poem from the heart of a travel agent
There’s no doubting the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked some incredible creativity among Australia’s travel industry. Claire Morris from Flight Centre Hampton and North Brighton is locked down along with the rest of Victoria and took the time to pen this ode to encourage the industry amid the avalanche of complaints and refund requests. You can follow Claire on Instagram @hereclaireandeverywhere.
ONCE upon a New Years evening, 2020 had me
gleaming – pondering all that was to come,
with love and prospects and then some.
But January came and went, while news across
the world had spread; the month of February
sat there stagnant, while government action
remained absent.
March hit hard like a runaway train and
suddenly travel went down the drain –
something happened across the waters which
had us concerned for our borders.
Numbers slowly crept up high while we were
scrambling to get by, and suddenly those we
thought were friends took a turn we could not
comprehend.
Relationships we had built over decades
suddenly began to quickly fade; those we had
considered friendly and faithful had suddenly
become so ungrateful!
Waking every morning seemed like my heart
would inwardly let out a scream, I’d drive to
work in a state of trance, which seemed to fly
by in a glance.
Sitting upon my throne of despair which had
once been my comfortable agent’s chair,
silently waiting for the next incoming call and
wondering if this client would be my downfall.
Hearts skipping a beat every time it rang,
wondering if the next conversation would start
with a bang – the middleman, as we were known,
were the ones being berated on the phone.
The looks of despair on my colleagues’ faces told
us silently they were being put in unwarranted
places, labelled dishonest, pathetic and simply
rude, or basically anything just as crude.
I stared at my spreadsheet of names and
numbers trying not to make any blunders,
knowing that one mistaken definition would
lead to just more ammunition – for every call
of praise and thanks there were ten more who
were firing blanks.
As my travel agent friends grew weary, our
sunken eyes showed signs or tearing. Kindness
is a virtue people seem to forget when they
believe a company owes them a debt.
So forget those clients who have their doubts
who fling their empty threats about, because
in this time of trials and testing comes along a
different kind of blessing.
Forget the kind words we crave from society
who seem to have lost all sense of propriety.
The support from my work family at my store
means more to me now than ever before.
For every client who becomes abusive, just
remember we have something more exclusive –
a family that has joined collectively to support
each other more affectionately.
And although we now must work alone in the
solitude of our own homes, just know that
spiritually we are combined, our thoughts and
feelings intertwined.
And even if we feel defeated, just know that in
this family you are needed.
So when you feel all hope is lost, just know
this situation will defrost.
When one of us is overcome with grief, beaten
and downtrodden with disbelief, please
remember that you have a family who without
fail will be here substantially.
So close your eyes and take a pause, eventually
the public will retract their claws, and
remember this won’t last forever, we’re all in
this tough time together.
And one day soon elbow knocks will fade, and
once again we won’t be afraid, we’ll hug each
other very tightly and suddenly the world will
seem so much more brightly.
But until that time we just need to push
through, and just know, through thick and thin,
I’ll stand by you.