If Covid could talk, this it what it would tell us

“HEY, mighty man, you think you are so intelligent and superior? You were so quick to find a vaccine to fight me. But I am always one step ahead of you. I keep mutating, leaving you baffled and frustrated, gasping in your tracks. As small as I am, you have met your match. I’ve got you stumped.

“You see, what you do not seem to realise is that there are too many of you on Earth. You have become so powerful and greedy, you lay waste to the Earth. You want everything for yourself. You build so many towns and cities and drive out all creatures, big and small, from their habitats.

“Look at what you have done to this beautiful Earth. Forests are disappearing fast, deserts are getting bigger and rivers and oceans are so heavily polluted that, in a few years, there will be more plastic than fish in the seas.

“Look at Europe from space. It’s so brightly lit up at night, it looks like one vast city. There are few forests and little greenery left. Many of the creatures that once inhabited them have been driven to extinction.

“Closer to home, look at a picture of Durban 100 years ago. It was such a beautiful bay and in a pristine state. And then look at it now. It’s called progress, but it’s become a cesspit. You build, build, build. You are so selfish.

“If you thought you could get rid of me easily, you are greatly mistaken. Each time you think you have, I keep coming back, wave after wave. I love crowded places. I can move unnoticed from person to person, freely, spreading my deadly virus.

“I am not going away any time soon. I’ll be here for a long time. As dreaded as I may be, I am here for a great cause – as part of nature’s plan to humble man, curb human population growth and save the planet for future generations. Rather look at me as a blessing in disguise.” T MARKANDAN I Kloof