There's a Virus Going Around!

(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 (5-13-20)

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

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