As if the troubles in life are not enough
Or, I am made of sterner stuff,
Why am I bombarded by
Sermons of sneeze and dry cough.

I do not wish to at all, decry
The signs we see, read and hear,
Of what we must do and why
But, I do not wish to heighten my fear.

Yes, we need to deal with calamity
Viruses or wrought by  Mother Nature,
Perhaps, from the present tragedy
We need to distill and the essence capture

Of what went wrong with the lives we led
And, why are we where we are,
Why have we in greed and ambition
Set ablaze forests and from simple living, so far.

Will we ever learn anything, O friends
Mend our ways and happily live,
Bear in mind both means and ends
To all else, respect give.

Stop the shenanigans we daily see
Stop the panic of noon and night,
Yes, we need both sympathy and empathy
But, not a 24/7 display of mortality.

Do what you will, O Authority
This is not the end or the last
Of events, that, hopefully, will help us shed
Our somnolency, let’s visit history and our past.

No Nostradamuses needed to predict the end
Let’s leave that to God and his Grand Designs
But, let’s do what He would want Mankind to do
Let’s read the writing on the wall, let’s heed the signs
But, please fill me with Hope, not mortal dread
Show me Sunrise, not the setting Sun                        
Life’s worth living, let’s look ahead
We all have a race to happily run

(The author is a businessman and part-time poet. He can be contacted at ashok.sawhny06.poems@gmail.com)