The Omnipresent Fear

K. Radhakumar *

In the morning, it's coronavirus,
At noon, it's coronavirus again
And the night does not remain silent.
Coronavirus coronavirus
Here, there and everywhere.
A new virus
A deadly disease -
The tragedy is it kills people
And nobody likes an unwanted death.
Coronavirus!
Overnight, it's the talk of the town.
Deeply concerned is everybody
And who'll not be
When WHO says
Or rather warns
It's time to act.
Fear stalks the streets of cities
All over the world.

It's an invasion,
An unprovoked invasion against humanity.
I'm glad for a split second
It's united all mankind
In its fight against a virus
A small thing
Too small to be seen to the naked eye.
Citizens of a fragmented society!
The fragmentation of mankind by religion
The fragmentation of mankind by political philosophies
The fragmentation of mankind by colours of skin
Ah! all mankind is united by a germ.
No power on earth could do it
A few days ago.

God didn't come, didn't come
To the rescue of
Jews in the Nazi concentration camps;
They died in their hundreds.
No saviour came
When Jesus was crucified.
I am not an atheist
When I say
God is not to be associated with these ordinary things.
Ordinary things require ordinary touch;
The modern mind does not pray to God
For an end to the attack of coronavirus
The omnipresent fear doing the rounds.
During the days of my grandparents
Man and God
They lived side by side;
Times have changed, have changed
Since my grandparents were alive.