Virus With A Purpose

It is but a lifeless virus that needs to bind itself to a living host to add meaning and purpose to it’s insipid form as it transcends into the realm of the living while replicating itself. Now in an unexpected twist of fate, it has managed to seize control over the world, making countries dance breathlessly to it’s feverish tune.

It is rocking the lives of the beings that considered themselves to be the reigning species as they smugly sat on top of the food chain.

Even as lockdowns, social distancing and other preventive measures attempt to arrest the spread of the wayward virus, it continues to fire up the global mindspace putting on hold all other matters of consequence.

It has interrupted the crazy pace of life, providing an environmental breather and an opportunity for soul searching and lifestyle changes, even as it seemingly triggers off a paradigm shift in the world priorities and human consciousness.

Hopefully the virus will be contained quickly and maybe this phase will go down in human history as the viral wake-up call that abruptly and forcibly made humans change tracks towards adopting sustainable and compassionate life practices, paving the path for a meaningful and better future.

Meanwhile the internet is laying claim on the netizens’ time more than ever. Be it for staying informed, homeschooling, indulging in social media or online entertainment.

This phase feels like being inside a novel that is a haphazard collaboration between Haruki Murakami, Robin Cook, Stephen King and Dav Pilkey, making it surreal, confusing, quirky, unsettling, scary and hilarious all at the same time.

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While some parts of the world grapple with running out of toilet paper
Other parts struggle to overcome water shortage with the onset of summer
We stock up on grocery and of course the sanitizer
In a shopping spree so frantic
Giving in to vague panic
In the face of the pandemic

Never before did a disease
Trigger such unrest and unease
bringing world systems to their knees

Never before did a sneeze
Make conversations cease
Disturbing the fragile peace

Never before did a virus
Create such widespread fuss
And in fear bind us thus

Never before did a virus inspire
Poetry and prose so sincere
And countless memes of humour

This mysterious intruder
With an origin unclear
Faster than a runaway rumour

Causing common flu like symptoms with a catch

And a unique crown to match

Hailed as a villain and a hero

Starting with patient zero
Its influence spanning continents
Lays claim over human sentiments
Its form inconspicuous
Yet a breathtaking demeanor so contagious
Making us want to flee
Go far and away and be free
Enough reason to hold us all captive
United we are in our desire to live
As we strive to defeat a virus
With an enigmatic purpose

And just like that…this virus has stolen the focus from all the other pressing issues the world is reeling under.

First published here.

Image via Pixabay

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