Of The Covid-19 Virus Pandemic Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Of the COVID-19 virus pandemic
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
I read a beautiful essay by Tim Cook in The Globe and Mail
About us Canadians whose fight is the battle against the corona virus pandemic
And it has a remarkable similarity to the fight against fascism and Nazism by the Canadians during World War II
And I must add, as your poet, Friends, Canadians and Countrymen, it was a long war that the Allied forces fought
When they took on the mightier than the mightiest German army;

Here there is no weapon which would vanquish the virus
Or a bomb shelter that people can use to protect themselves
We have face masks and use of sanitizers and washing of hands alone
To ensure that we get better of the virus;

But like all wars, it must be fought and people must be brave
And look to our leaders and front line workers to take measures that
Save us from death or illness
And this is a war that will be fought in our homes;

The country has come to a standstill and we do not have
Our usual set of activities and in all honesty, I must say
That other than the fact that I cannot go lingerie shopping, or a movie theatre
It is not as frightening as for the others
But there is the fear that like many, perhaps, my husband may be laid off
And that would be simply unbearable
For I have not yet succeeded in making an income for myself and for my family
Unless I count the years of work many years back;

Of course, the men in my life meaning my husband and son,
Are spending an inordinate time at home, working as I do also,
What cannot be fought for some must be endured
And I sincerely wish that all of us triumph in this fight;

I learnt about the Maginot Line from the afore mentioned essay
And the defensive forces of France across the dug-in trenches, I think,
And the British army on the northern flank
Canada joined in and fought along the side of the British
And America joined in later after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941;

There was a good four years of fighting that followed
Before the final victory of the Allied forces with the Normandy Beach invasion in Europe
And the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing on the Pacific side
So many war brides came to these countries
While so many were widowed and so many mothers and fathers wept for their sons
And so many lost their beloved lovers or fiances
And so many children lost their fathers
And these were only the war casualties;

May 8th,1945 is a day to commemorate for it meant the victory
Of the Allied forces in Europe and as I am informed, Aug 15th,1945,
Was the day that Japan was defeated,
And other than spraying our surroundings with hand sanitizer fluid,
I cannot think of any other protective measures for the COVID-19 virus pandemic;

Brave engineers and researchers will find a cure and a vaccine for the deadly virus
In labs and courageous doctors and health care workers will save the victims in hospitals and clinics
And to fight it as some people have, it is necessary to have a good immune system
And we could try isolating the DNA strand that gives some of us immunity
And this could be a measure until a vaccine and cure are discovered.