The Book Of Virus
1.1
The virus sneezes with a Chinese name beyond any firewall.
1.2
Panic may spread like a wildfire.
Quarantine the nightingale in your mouth.
1.3
Two are a party.
The arrival of the third may trigger a people’s curfew.
1.4
Indefinite lockdown is the exiting of light from the end of the tunnel.
1.5
The sky has been cleared off celestial debris.
A swan has docked at a sea-port.
1.6
Social distancing for our shadows to be single.
Hand-wash in case our hands are ready to mingle.
1.7
If you contract the virus : trace the trail of your shadow.
1.8
Break the chain like scissoring a suez
Through the crowd.
Chandramohan S is an Indian English Dalit poet and literary critic based in Trivandrum, Kerala. His poems were shortlisted for Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize in 2016. His second collection of poems is titled Letters to Namdeo Dhasal.
