Earth seems to be standing still on its axis
As Coronavirus rages across latitudes ...un-nerving , unforgiving
Attacking all the man-made worlds, First , Second and Third
Without bullets, bombs and nuclear arsenals
Bodies become carriers ... cough and sneeze the deadly weapon, proximity the kiss of death, intimacy toxic
Standing armies , stand down as do spy agencies and propaganda corps
Drones , bombers and tanks have all been parked
Frontlines are now manned by doctors, nurses and medical staff
Farmers, food distributors , janitors, emergency workers ... are the ones who will see us through
hospitals without beds , without respirators , without medicines, without the capacity to heal ,
Turning back too many without hope
full yet empty .....
Elderly who built the countries , have no place among the chosen survivors
The future is all that counts as we erased the instinct to protect the vulnerable
Our millennium dreams never planned for the past
Where did we take the wrong turn...
Forget those with a heartbeat to build laboratories of war and power, stocked commodities and currencies, amassed endless land, begin to recognize concrete tall as the pinnacle
Only to find out ... it’s just the heartbeat , the healthy lung that we need to keep alive ... to feel alive
Niilofur Farrukh
April 4, 2020
Karachi