(This poem could be sung to the melody of Stephen Sondheims's song "Giants in the Sky" from INTO THE WOODS.)

There's a virus going around!
There's a harmful, horrible virus going around!

When you wake each day,
And you hear the news,
And you'd like to think
That it's just a ruse--
That it's maybe a dream--
And so you refuse
To let it change your life.

Then you realize
That the dream is real,
And you learn that you
Simply can't conceal
The troubling facts
That the signs reveal.
You know…you must
Decide to place your trust
In people who don't put on airs.
Their message scares
Us because there's
A harmful, horrible virus going around--
A harmful, horrible virus. Oh, yes, that's what they've found.
And it is a threat
To both you and me.
Yet some people say
That they don't agree.
Though it creeps up close
And it doesn't make a sound,
It's all around.

If only we knew how
To fight it best.
One thing we know is
We can take a test.
But the president seems
To be so obsessed
With other matters, so…

Each state is stuck with
Figuring it out.
And you're out of luck
Unless you've got clout.
So you distance yourself
From others, no doubt.
And you wonder how
The delays came about.
But hey!…Just say,
"We can make this go away!"
But to find a path
Will not be a breeze.
We need expertise
In times like these.
Some say that our economy must come first.
If that is more important than lives, then we’re at our worst.
Yes, we have to work to live and thrive,
But to work a person must be alive.
There are some things that
Can or cannot be reversed.
It's all around.

There's a virus going around!
There's a harmful, horrible, awful, deadly, dangerous
Virus going around!

-by Bob B (5-13-20)

(Listen to Lin Manuel Miranda sing Sondheim's song on YouTube.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz-eZEcsvIk