The Virus

Here in South Africa, in early March 2021, we are remembering one year of having Covid-19 officially in our country.

Please note: officially.

Of course, news of the virus around the world was already starting to break more than a year ago, and even as far back as late 2019 there were whispers, from informed sources, of a new and mysterious virus that seemed to be emanating from China.

So I thought it would be useful to look back on this unpleasant anniversary, which has changed the way that we live and work; think and operate; dream and hope… which has brought illness, death and deep sorrow to so many people around the world.

On Sunday 24 May 2020, after South Africa had experienced the first taste of the initial ‘hard’ lockdown, and we were all cautiously starting to venture back into the world again to run errands, I went to a nearby shopping mall with my then 12-year-old son.

After we’d finished with our tasks, we walked to the other side of the mall to look at the small aquarium in the shopping centre, which is about 4 metres deep and holds some mostly-small and pretty sea fish.

As someone who lives in an inland city, I like going to this little aquarium whenever I’m in this particular mall (which isn’t often), because it reminds me of my aspirations to go on a family holiday to an island one day.

I want my children to be able to personally discover some of the ocean’s wonders for themselves, through snorkelling and scuba diving. It’s a huge thing on my bucket list.

That day, in the centre, Matthew and I were the only ones at the mini-aquarium, and the experience was peaceful and pleasant.

But when we got home again I started wondering – as I have done before – what is the true nature of the virus that is currently ravaging human life around the world?

And so a little poem arrived in my head.

You are welcome to share the poem – I ask only that you be respectful of copyright, and credit me as the author:

Vivienne Fouche, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Virus

I took a little outing                               

To the mall today                                  

And remembered all the things              

That are lost, or put away;                     

The people were in masks,                   

Eye contact was rare                            

So many shops were closed                  

And fear was in the air…                       

Of the Virus.                               

I took a little walk                                              

To the mall’s other side;                                    

It’s an indoor aquarium,                        

An ocean mini-guide.                            

I spent a little time                                

Relaxing with the fish;                           

I dreamed a little dream                        

And I made a big wish:                         

Begone, Virus.    

                       

Meantime, in our absence,                    

The Earth breathes again;                     

The planet doesn’t miss us…                

Children, women, men:                         

Because the fault of the Virus                

Lies with Humankind;                            

Do we care what we’ve done –              

Solutions, will we find?                          

WE are Virus!                          

And my hope, and my prayer,               

Is that new respect will come                 

When we swim in the oceans                

And revel in the sun;                             

That we’ll be no longer selfish,              

Will with care apply our minds,              

So with thought and concern, our race   

At last will be kind:                                

No more Earth’s Virus…          

[Copyright author – 27 May 2020] 

Photo by Shivaz Shamoon, Unsplash

PS: Please see this thoughtful post from Psychology Today from a writer who also thinks that the planet’s main problem is people.