Poem: Living in times of Paranoia

The pandemic brought many ills to the global village

Not least among them is the scourge of paranoia

The mental faculty of trust has been dismantled

The face of the pandemic is not social distancing

The face of the pandemic is paranoia

This is not a subtle human instinct

It’s found in many of our undefined human behaviours

Including in our fear of the unknown

The human brain tends to manufacture demons

When the terrain is rough

This time around a monster was delivered to our doorsteps

And it stands taller than the Covid-19 pandemic

It will turn father against son and mother against daughter

If we are not careful

It will consume as many lives as the Covid-19 pandemic

I know some will be tempted to focus their powerful laser on me

But it is the malignant tumour in our midst

That needs all of our attention

Let us be aware of this unwanted parasite

That has infested the human brain

And will lead to more human suffering

Let us resect it while we still have time

And maybe we will be able to look each other in the eye

Be proud of our achievements

Be happy to be free at last

It is not fair to some

But I will say it

Covid-19 Vaccines are not our enemies

The true enemy is a bye-product of our logical minds (Paranoia)

We have to abandon logic for a while

Hold hope in our heads (and hearts)

And get ourselves and everyone else vaccinated

The sooner we do this

The better for our communities, nations and the world

©Kenneth Maswabi