Corona Says
By Vishnu S. Rai
About the Author
Vishnu S Rai (1951-) was educated in India, Nepal, and the UK. He taught English at Tribhuvan University for three decades and retired as Professor of English Language Education. Rai writes both in English and Nepali. He has written stories like Martyrs & Other Stories (English), play Realities (English), travelogues Nau Dandapari (Nepali), and a novel Paheli (Nepali). But above all, he is a poet and he has published Sudama (a semi epic in Nepali), Jeevan (a collection of poems in Nepali), Vagabond Verses (a collection of poems in English), and Tritiyaki joon (a collection of songs and gazals in Nepali), and his English poems are taught in Nepal and abroad. Rai is known as a poet of human emotions.
About Poem
The poem, Corona Says, written on the theme of the present world crisis Corona and its devastating impact on human life, is a subtle satire on man's conduct and attitude. It views Covid-19 as the byproduct of man's treatment of nature.
Summary:
In this short poem, we find corona addressing human beings. It denies the blame that it is responsible for the death of thousands of people (being corona positive) and the ruin of the world economy.
It didn't come on its own. It is the result of irrational and irresponsible behavior of human beings towards nature. Humans think themselves to be the master of the whole earth, including all living and nonliving things. They have always used these according to their need and whim. They forget the earth to be a common habitat for all living things.
In the lockdown period, when all human activities were almost stopped, nature got back its old appearance -- the blue sky, pollution-free atmosphere, etc. This also proves that we are responsible for the catastrophe (any event causing great damage) and misery of Mother Earth.
In the last stanza, Corona warns that if we do not correct ourselves, many more such devastating pandemics will come, with even more death and destruction.
Understanding the text
-
Who is the speaker in the poem?
This is an example of 'persona poetry'. In such poetry, poets create a persona (speaker). Persona poetry is written from the point of view of the speaker. So, the first-person pronoun 'I' is used in such poems. In this poem, the speaker is 'corona'.
-
Who claims that they are superior to all?
Corona says that human beings claim that they are superior to all.
-
Why has the speaker come to the earth?
It has given two reasons for it. Firstly, it wants to show a mirror to humans. It wants to make humans realize what harms they have inflicted on nature and how they have mistreated other animals.
It has also come to give a little rest to Mother Earth. It wanted to give her a break from all the human wrongdoing and cruelties on earth. Such things had made her a victim for a long time. After its arrival, almost the whole world went into lockdown, and this way, Mother Earth got relief.
-
What positive changes have occurred on earth after the speaker's visit?
Corona was not all bad. Here the speaker presents some positive aspects of this period. In the lockdown period, all human activities came almost to a stop. Transportation and industries and other aspects were stopped, resulting in reduced pollution. The earth, air, and nature all became dust-free. The sky looked clear and blue.
Reference to the Context
What does the speaker mean when he says:
"But have you ever counted
How many have died so far
Because of you and your wars?"
Here we find the speaker rejecting the blame that several thousand people have lost their lives due to him. He says that it is not the first time that such a big number of people have lost their lives in a single event. He reminds humans that millions of people have lost their lives in different wars as well. This again proves human behavior has remained the same in the past also.
Thus, through this question, the speaker holds a mirror to humans.
Explain the following:
"I will depart one day.
But remember
There are many many others like me.
They will come too.
If you don't get rid of your inflated ego,
You'll be back to your cave time
That you endured
Long, l o n g, l o n g ago"
This is the last stanza of the poem. Here we find the speaker giving a warning to the human beings. He says it is sure that corona will go back one day. But it will not be the last of human sufferings. Many more such diseases will come again and again in the future, if we don't change our attitude and irrational behaviors.
Not only that, if we don't correct ourselves, our civilization will collapse. Finally, we will be back to the prehistoric era, when people used to live in caves and hunt for food.
What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.
"The earth is not your property alone -
It's as much ours as yours."
Through these two lines, the speaker gives an important message to human beings. Humans think and treat the earth as their own private property. It is a misconception. God has created the earth for humans as well as for all living things. It is a shared habitat for all.
Reference Beyond the Text
What human behaviors are responsible for the suffering in people's lives?
God created the beautiful world and the different living things. But humans could not live happily here. There are lots of sufferings in people's lives, and the irony is that human behaviors are mostly responsible for all such sufferings.
We can talk about these under two headings: mental and physical sufferings.
The major reason for our mental sufferings is our certain human traits. Such traits are deeply rooted in our psychology. For example, we lie, cheat, are jealous, fight, kill, and are immoral. Such behaviors are nasty, destructive, and give us pain. The best way to get rid of such sufferings is to control and concentrate ourselves with the help of yoga.
Similarly, we are responsible for physical sufferings too. Some examples of such are natural disasters, different diseases including epidemics, pandemics, etc. Many such problems are related to the environment. These changes are results of human activities from land use change to climate change.
Human population is ever increasing. They cut trees and forests to house and feed the increasing population. The other natural resources are also exploited too much. This is disturbing the ecosystem. Troubles like landslides, flooding, etc. are increasing.
Next, our food habits are also responsible for our sufferings. Many diseases are transferred to human beings through animals. To give only one example, Covid-19 is believed to have come from a wet market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The heavy transportation and factory smokes have made a hole in the ozone layer. This allows the ultraviolet rays of the sun to come directly to earth. This gives birth to many diseases. The heavy use of chemicals and other manures in agriculture brings several diseases.
In conclusion, we can say that human behaviors are responsible for the sufferings in human lives.
-
How does an epidemic differ from a pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of the Coronavirus on human life and the environment.
Epidemics and pandemics are both diseases. A disease is called an epidemic when it spreads over a wide area very quickly and affects many individuals. Many people fall ill at the same time.
But if the spread increases rapidly, it becomes a pandemic. Pandemics affect a wider geographical area. In short, a pandemic is an epidemic in the beginning.
The Coronavirus has both good and bad impacts on human lives and the environment. A very large number of people lost their lives due to this disease. In the lockdown period, many human activities were stopped, and it also had a very bad impact.
For example, travel and other industries were stopped in many regions of the world. Almost all businesses were stopped, and many people lost their jobs. The economy of many countries was ruined, and students were deprived of education.
On the other hand, this had a positive effect on nature and the atmosphere. Air pollution reduced, rivers became cleaner, and as people were confined to their rooms in the lockdown period, many of them learned new skills.
This is an example of 'persona poetry'. In such poetry, poets create a persona (speaker). Persona poetry is written from the point of view of the speaker. So, the first-person pronoun 'I' is used in such poems. In this poem, the speaker is 'corona'.
Corona says that human beings claim that they are superior to all.
It has given two reasons for it. Firstly, it wants to show a mirror to humans. It wants to make humans realize what harms they have inflicted on nature and how they have mistreated other animals. It has also come to give a little rest to Mother Earth. It wanted to give her a break from all the human wrongdoing and cruelties on earth. Such things had made her a victim for a long time. After its arrival, almost the whole world went into lockdown, and this way, Mother Earth got relief.
Corona was not all bad. Here the speaker presents some positive aspects of this period. In the lockdown period, all human activities came almost to a stop. Transportation and industries and other aspects were stopped, resulting in reduced pollution. The earth, air, and nature all became dust-free. The sky looked clear and blue.
What does the speaker mean when he says:
"But have you ever counted
Here we find the speaker rejecting the blame that several thousand people have lost their lives due to him. He says that it is not the first time that such a big number of people have lost their lives in a single event. He reminds humans that millions of people have lost their lives in different wars as well. This again proves human behavior has remained the same in the past also. Thus, through this question, the speaker holds a mirror to humans.
How many have died so far
Because of you and your wars?"Explain the following:
"I will depart one day.
This is the last stanza of the poem. Here we find the speaker giving a warning to the human beings. He says it is sure that corona will go back one day. But it will not be the last of human sufferings. Many more such diseases will come again and again in the future, if we don't change our attitude and irrational behaviors. Not only that, if we don't correct ourselves, our civilization will collapse. Finally, we will be back to the prehistoric era, when people used to live in caves and hunt for food.
But remember
There are many many others like me.
They will come too.
If you don't get rid of your inflated ego,
You'll be back to your cave time
That you endured
Long, l o n g, l o n g ago"What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.
"The earth is not your property alone -
Through these two lines, the speaker gives an important message to human beings. Humans think and treat the earth as their own private property. It is a misconception. God has created the earth for humans as well as for all living things. It is a shared habitat for all.
It's as much ours as yours."
Reference Beyond the Text
What human behaviors are responsible for the suffering in people's lives?
God created the beautiful world and the different living things. But humans could not live happily here. There are lots of sufferings in people's lives, and the irony is that human behaviors are mostly responsible for all such sufferings.
We can talk about these under two headings: mental and physical sufferings.
The major reason for our mental sufferings is our certain human traits. Such traits are deeply rooted in our psychology. For example, we lie, cheat, are jealous, fight, kill, and are immoral. Such behaviors are nasty, destructive, and give us pain. The best way to get rid of such sufferings is to control and concentrate ourselves with the help of yoga.
Similarly, we are responsible for physical sufferings too. Some examples of such are natural disasters, different diseases including epidemics, pandemics, etc. Many such problems are related to the environment. These changes are results of human activities from land use change to climate change.
Human population is ever increasing. They cut trees and forests to house and feed the increasing population. The other natural resources are also exploited too much. This is disturbing the ecosystem. Troubles like landslides, flooding, etc. are increasing.
Next, our food habits are also responsible for our sufferings. Many diseases are transferred to human beings through animals. To give only one example, Covid-19 is believed to have come from a wet market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The heavy transportation and factory smokes have made a hole in the ozone layer. This allows the ultraviolet rays of the sun to come directly to earth. This gives birth to many diseases. The heavy use of chemicals and other manures in agriculture brings several diseases.
In conclusion, we can say that human behaviors are responsible for the sufferings in human lives.
-
How does an epidemic differ from a pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of the Coronavirus on human life and the environment.
Epidemics and pandemics are both diseases. A disease is called an epidemic when it spreads over a wide area very quickly and affects many individuals. Many people fall ill at the same time.
But if the spread increases rapidly, it becomes a pandemic. Pandemics affect a wider geographical area. In short, a pandemic is an epidemic in the beginning.
The Coronavirus has both good and bad impacts on human lives and the environment. A very large number of people lost their lives due to this disease. In the lockdown period, many human activities were stopped, and it also had a very bad impact.
For example, travel and other industries were stopped in many regions of the world. Almost all businesses were stopped, and many people lost their jobs. The economy of many countries was ruined, and students were deprived of education.
On the other hand, this had a positive effect on nature and the atmosphere. Air pollution reduced, rivers became cleaner, and as people were confined to their rooms in the lockdown period, many of them learned new skills.
What human behaviors are responsible for the suffering in people's lives?
God created the beautiful world and the different living things. But humans could not live happily here. There are lots of sufferings in people's lives, and the irony is that human behaviors are mostly responsible for all such sufferings.
We can talk about these under two headings: mental and physical sufferings.
The major reason for our mental sufferings is our certain human traits. Such traits are deeply rooted in our psychology. For example, we lie, cheat, are jealous, fight, kill, and are immoral. Such behaviors are nasty, destructive, and give us pain. The best way to get rid of such sufferings is to control and concentrate ourselves with the help of yoga.
Similarly, we are responsible for physical sufferings too. Some examples of such are natural disasters, different diseases including epidemics, pandemics, etc. Many such problems are related to the environment. These changes are results of human activities from land use change to climate change.
Human population is ever increasing. They cut trees and forests to house and feed the increasing population. The other natural resources are also exploited too much. This is disturbing the ecosystem. Troubles like landslides, flooding, etc. are increasing.
Next, our food habits are also responsible for our sufferings. Many diseases are transferred to human beings through animals. To give only one example, Covid-19 is believed to have come from a wet market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The heavy transportation and factory smokes have made a hole in the ozone layer. This allows the ultraviolet rays of the sun to come directly to earth. This gives birth to many diseases. The heavy use of chemicals and other manures in agriculture brings several diseases.
In conclusion, we can say that human behaviors are responsible for the sufferings in human lives.
How does an epidemic differ from a pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of the Coronavirus on human life and the environment.
Epidemics and pandemics are both diseases. A disease is called an epidemic when it spreads over a wide area very quickly and affects many individuals. Many people fall ill at the same time.
But if the spread increases rapidly, it becomes a pandemic. Pandemics affect a wider geographical area. In short, a pandemic is an epidemic in the beginning.
The Coronavirus has both good and bad impacts on human lives and the environment. A very large number of people lost their lives due to this disease. In the lockdown period, many human activities were stopped, and it also had a very bad impact.
For example, travel and other industries were stopped in many regions of the world. Almost all businesses were stopped, and many people lost their jobs. The economy of many countries was ruined, and students were deprived of education.
On the other hand, this had a positive effect on nature and the atmosphere. Air pollution reduced, rivers became cleaner, and as people were confined to their rooms in the lockdown period, many of them learned new skills.