Oh virus, corona virus
What havoc you’ve wreaked in our lives
You’ve devoured the news
Given us the blues
Though we do what we can to survive
You’re just a simple protein molecule
An RNA or DNA
With a nasty lipid coating
A harmless little molecule
Until you settle on a cuticle
Or find your way into our nose
And then your start to multiply.
You change your code, hijack our cells
And turn aggressive
Travel to our lungs
And make us sick
You’re just a simple molecule,
A tiny protein molecule
That’s sentenced us to solitude
Put a nation on vacation
Created an econo-coma
We’re cooped up for days or weeks
inside our small abodes
all for fear of you,
a simple protein molecule
We keep apart, six feet apart
don’t touch our faces
skip crowded places
We wash our hands, we scrub and scrub
we clip our nails,
wear masks or veils
depend on alcohol or bleach
hand sanitizers, moisturizers
all the weapons that we have.
We shelter in place for fear of you
close libraries, schools, gyms and bars
shut down all sports and close the parks.
You can’t be killed, you’re not alive
Your molecules can float for hours
To lodge in noses, eyes or throats
You love the cold, love dark and damp
But hate the heat and UV light
Oh virus, corona virus
Before this year we never knew you,
But just since March
We’ve learned to fear you.
We pray for your eradication.
Release us from this separation
And end the national staycation.
Submitted by Susan Corey Everson, Ventura County – Thousand Oaks.