Poem 1: Corona Says

In "Corona Says," Nepali poet Prof. Dr. Vishnu S. Rai personifies the COVID-19 coronavirus as an articulate, vengeful ambassador of Mother Nature. The virus rebukes humankind for cursing it, asserting that it did not emerge out of malice, but was summoned by human rapacity—deforesting ancient woods, hunting wild animals, polluting oceans, and treating the earth as a private kingdom. The speaker contrasts human arrogance (stockpiling nuclear arsenals and boasting of technological supremacy) with human impotence against a microscopic pathogen. The virus points out positive ecological consequences of global lockdowns: clear blue skies without smog, oceans breathing freely, and birds singing unchoked. The poem concludes with a sobering ultimatum: even if the coronavirus departs, humanity’s reckless disregard for the planet will inevitably invite far deadlier environmental catastrophes unless human beings learn to live in humble harmony with all living forms.

Practice questions curated specifically for Poem 1: Corona Says.