In ninety-three out where the Four Corners meet,
The native deer mouse brought a threat to the street.
The heavy rains fell when the drought finally broke,
And Sin Nombre woke when the arid dust spoke.
Across the whole country, the illness is found,
But west of the river, the cases abound.
In cabins and sheds, when the droppings dry out,
The particles float as you sweep them about.
You breathe it all in without seeing a trace,
For one to eight weeks, it conceals its dark face.
It starts like the flu with a fever and chill,
With aches in the muscles that render you ill.
Then four to ten days and the terror is here,
The blood vessels leak as the danger draws near.
The lungs fill with fluid, you struggle for breath,
A medical crisis that dances with death.
There is no vaccine and no cure you can buy,
Just oxygen tanks so the patient won't die.
In the States, it won't spread from a man to a man,
But the news of today shows a much darker plan.
The ship MV Hondius took to the sea,
From South Argentina to wander so free.
But boarded in April, a passenger brought
The rare Andes strain, and the vessel was caught.
Unlike the US where it stops in its track,
The Andes contagion has launched an attack.
From person to person, in quarters so tight,
The human transmission is spreading the blight.
With three tragic deaths and a terrible toll,
They airlift the sick to regain some control.
Now bound for Canaries, the vessel sails on,
Just praying this deadly affliction is gone.
Is this a new plague like the Corona we knew?
Will cities be silenced and shutdowns ensue?
Only time has the answer, but deep in the air,
The change can be felt like a weight of despair.
Does this happen by chance or is it by design?
As trust in this world starts to fail and decline.
Should I buy a new car while the factories run?
Or hoard all the paper before it is done?
It’s a sad time for all, for the world and the land,
As we realize power is not in our hand.
With death all around us and man with no cure,
We look for a spirit that’s stable and pure.
So let your heart soften, don't let it turn hard,
Keep watch o'er your soul and stay ever on guard.
What good is the anger that runs through your life,
When humans just add to the chaos and strife?
We turn now to Jesus, our hope and our light,
To lead us through darkness and into the sight.
May God's holy will through the shadows now shine,
And conquer the hell with a mercy divine.