Of Pasta And Garlic Bread And Politics Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Of pasta and garlic bread and politics
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
I made spaghetti and garlic bread
And although the former was an added to version of a canned pasta,
The latter took lovin' and kneadin'
Ya, Baby, three times,
But the result was not half as bad
For there is romance in bread and roses;

But the flower of the hour and day is tulips
And if my flower bed looks promising
The flowers I got for Mother's Day along with cake from each of the men in my life
Are blooming pinks and purples and whites
Bringing spring fever into the living room;

Spring fever, hah! , with the COVID-19 virus pandemic
Looming large and endless in our lives even after two months of lockdown period
The New Yorker (May 18th,2020)said that in 2014, during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa,
The Obama government lent a whopping helping hand
But this time around, during the COVID-19 virus pandemic,
Both the USA and China are not coming through for people in need
And are actually denying the severity of the situation;

Pres. Donald Trump has even cut funding to the WHO
Which is desperately trying to fight the pandemic
By encouraging research on a cure and a vaccine
As is Canada led by PM Justin Trudeau who has granted a very nice sum
For the research;

For the conference with WHO in which Canada played a leading role,
I have this excerpt from the internet:
Trudeau pledged $850 million to the global fund, which will go toward diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, the European Commission said in a press release last week. That sum is part of previously announced funding.
Trudeau said there will be no return to "full normal" until there is a vaccine.
"When a storm comes, people tend to want to hunker down with their friends, with their families, and wait until it blows over, " he said.
"But we cannot isolate ourselves. We cannot hope that everyone else does well while we take care of ourselves. We need to take care of ourselves and take care of the rest of the world as well."
Resuming as I, Gayathri B. Seetharam, I say that this altruism
And philanthropic instinct that Canada has displayed, is actually exemplary leadership
For America and China have turned their backs on the crisis in the world
I think that having lived in America in 1992 and 1993, it is now more than ever
In need of a stronger and wiser leader, one who will not deny existing problems
As a witch hunt to get him
But will instead, work with the people to deal with crises.

Acknowledgements:
1. Evan Osnos
2. CBC.ca