Poetry

Covid 19 and The West

CORONA VIRUS, UNSEEN ANYWHERE,

CAUSING  COVID 19 -DEATH EVERYWHERE,

FAST IS IT’S  SPREAD

FASTER HUMANS FALL DEAD.

 

THE WORLD STANDS FROZEN,

AT THE DEATHS, IN BAKER’S DOZENS,

OF THE VICTIMS, UMPTEEN  SUCH DOZENS

 AND MORE DEATHS IN MANY MORE  SUCH DOZENS.

 

DOZENS ARE NOTHING BUT A COUNT

USED WHEN CASUALTIES   ARE COUNTABLE,

BUT THE COVID DEATHS ARE COUNTLESS,

NOT AT ALL COUNTABLE IN DOZENS ON ANY COUNT.

 

COVID 19, CASUALTIES ARE A NEW KIND

A STAGGERING KIND

A COMMUNICATIVE KIND

INFECTIOUS KIND.

 

 MORE  OF A FATAL KIND,

A KILLER OF A FAST KIND.

LIKELY TO CAUSE THE ERASURE OF MANKIND

FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH, THE ENTIRE  MANKIND.

 

COVID 19 KILLS FASTER THAN ITS SPREAD, SURE

AND MAN, IN   HIS SHORTENED EXPECTANCY  OF  LIFE SURE

 AS  THE COVID19 DEATHS OUT-NUMBER THE HUMAN BIRTH, SURE.

WHICH SPELLS THE END OF THE SPECIES CALLED MAN, SURE

 

THE WORLD IS USED ONLY TO THE KIND

OF CASUALTIES IN WAR, SEVERE, FIERCE  KIND,

AND ONLY BETWEEN COUNTRIES, THE COMMON KIND,

BUT COVID ATTACK IS OF A DIFFERENT KIND.

 

NOT LIKE, BETWEEN COUNTRIES, THE COMMON KIND,

 BUT STRANGELY, NOT AGAINST LIVING BEINGS OF ALL KIND,

 BUT ONLY AGAINST THE MANKIND.

A RARE “BIO-ATTACK”, AGAINST THE MANKIND.

 

VEHICLES, AMBULANCES DASH CRISS-CROSS,

THE WORLD ACROSS

WITH COVID19 PATIENTS THEY DASH

TO  HOSPITALS THEY DASH.

 

TO SAVE A LIFE FROM SURE DEATH, THEY DASH.

BUT COVID 19, FASTER THAN THE AMBULANCE, DASHES

TO BEAT THE AMBULANCE’S NOBLE MISSION

AS IF, VYING TO OUT-EDGE IT’S MISSION.

 

COVID 19 SUCCEEDS IN ITS MISSION

TO DEFEAT THE AMBULANCE’S NOBLE MISSION

IT’S  FASTER IN ITS SPEED

THAN THE AMBULANCE’S SPEED.

 

MANY MANY PATIENTS  PICKED UP ALIVE

REACHING THE HOSPITAL, SHOCKINGLY NO MORE ALIVE.

COVID 19’S, LIGHTNING STRIKE, A BLITZKRIEG

YES, IT’S PURE AND SIMPLE, A BLITZKRIEG.

 

AMBULANCES  RETURN SILENT, WITH THE DEAD

 PACKED LIKE SARDINES, THE DEAD.

NO MORE THE WHEEZING THERE

NO MORE  THE STRUGGLING THERE

 

NO MORE THE ALARMING SIREN OF THE  AMBULANCE, THERE

NO MORE ITS  DESTINATION ANY HOSPITAL, ANYWHERE

NO MORE  ITS  JOURNEY AT BREAK-NECK SPEED, SURE

BUT A SLOW, MELANCHOLIC ONE TO THE CEMETERY, SURE

 

SO MOVES THE PROCESSION SLITHERING FORWARD

THE DEAD, WITH NO VISION, NO DREAMS, OF LIFE, TO LOOK FORWARD

EXCEPT TO ADD A LINK EACH TO THE LONG CHAIN OF HISTORY

FOR THE CADAVERS, TO BE PART OF HISTORY.

 

THE COUNTRIES OF THE WEST,

THINK, FAR ADVANCED THEY ARE, THAN THE EAST,

BOAST OF THEIR STOCK OF MODERN WEAPONRY

TO CONQUER THE WORLD, IN THEIR ARMOURY.

 

THEY ARE USED TO THE FIGHTS BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES,

CALLED WAR,  BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES,

A  WELL PREPARED FIGHT BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES,

IN TUNE WITH THE MILITARY STRENGTH OF THE COUNTRIES.

 

BUT THE CORONA VIRUS TO THEM IS LIKE A GORILLA ATTACK,

SUDDEN FROM AN UNEXPECTED CORNER AN ATTACK,

WEAPONS ARE UTTERLY USELESS AGAINST THE ATTACK

AGAINST THE MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS’ ATTACK.

 

 ONLY MEDICINES CAN CURE OR PREVENT THE ATTACK.

THE WEST AREN’T PREPARED FOR THIS KIND OF AN  ATTACK

AS THEY  LONG GAVE UP THEIR INDIGENOUS PRODUCTIONS

AND NOW UNABLE TO RE-START AT SHORT NOTICE, THE PRODUCTIONS.

 

FOR CHEAP LABOUR, THEY OUTSOURCED THEIR PRODUCTIONS

TO THE LABOUR- CHEAP  COUNTRIES IN THE EAST,

AN IDEA FOR THEM ECONOMICALLY BEST.

BUT  AN IDEA FOR THEM, EXISTENTIALLY THE WORST.

 

NOW THE COUNTRIES OF THE WEST IN DILEMMA

NOT EQUIPPED TO GET RID OF THE COVID 19 DILEMMA,

FOR THEY FELL INTO  THEIR OWN INESCAPABLE, SELF MADE, SNARE

AN  OBVIOUS ACT OF HINDSIGHT, A SNARE.

 

THE WEST SHOULD HAVE ACTED WITH FORESIGHT.

IN THE PRODUCTION OF  LIFE-SAVING MEDICINES WITH FORESIGHT

BEFORE ACTING WITH HINDSIGHT

OUTSOURCING THEIR PRODUCTION SANS  ANY FORESIGHT

 

THEY LOOK NOW, HOPEFULLY TO THE EAST

FOR THE ARTICLES THEY ARE BADLY IN NEED,  FROM THE EAST

FOR THE EAST  COULD EASILY MEET THE WEST, THEIR URGENT  NEEDS

THE  MEDICINES AND THE PROTECTIVE GEARS, FOR THEIR PRESSING NEEDS

 

NOW, THE WEST LOOK FOR THE  LARGESSE OF THE EAST.

AS IF, THE FIRST TIME THEY TACITLY ADMIT DEFEAT.

AS IF, THE FIRST TIME ADMIT THE EAST

A FORCE TO RECKON WITH, BY THE WEST.

 

THOSE ILL-FATED COUNTRIES OF THE WEST,

LAG BEHIND, WITH BATED BREATH IN THEIR CHEST,

LOOKS UTTERLY  HAPLESS, FORLORN,

DESTINED TO  WEEP AND WEEP ALONE.

                                                                                                                        ~ Baby  Kattackal

                                                                                                                                  Muvattupuzha, India

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