Till just the other day
’twas merely another Psalm
penned by the shepherd king
we thought; but scholars
as nearly always
thought otherwise.
And though we dutifully
read it, mugged it up and recited
all its sixteen verses
before lunch in
Sunday School or at home,
words of the order of
‘pestilence’ or even ‘plague’
were above our ken;
we knew not what they meant
for we all belong to a
brand new generation
that simply did not exist
during the Malaria outbreak
that killed many a white man
in the last century.
The Spanish plague?
Oh, it was so so long ago.
And it never never struck us
even in our worst fears and
fevered imagination
that there would be a time
in our own life span
when there’s just no transport
no buses, trains or planes
and we are barred from
getting together, hanging out;
shut indoors like Noah’s Ark
clutching tight our small devices
with their WhatsApp, Facebook,
Instagram, Zoom
added to their basic function
of just making a call.
Oh, what would we do
in these troubled times
without a mask and a smart phone?
Corona, actually a
nice sounding word
about rings of light
around the sun & moon.
Who would have thought
that in virus form
it would literally bring
nations to kneel
leaders to keel
killing tens of thousands
in deathly silence?
Now at last we
begin to understand
and fervently grasp
a bit of the Bible
that so clearly says
God is our refuge
shelter and fortress
in times like these
we need not fear
nor be afraid. Yes, it’s time
we reread the 91st Psalm
with full understanding
praised our God,
washed our hands and
stayed at home.
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