Pandemic Pandemonium (Swine Flu)

Pardon skepticism, but it’s true There’s too much ado about Swine Flu Thirty-one deaths by May of ‘09 In 25 nations worldwide Avoid all public transportation And forego annual vacations Protect us from the dreaded Swine Flu By closing our schools and churches too The government was slow to react When HIV first left its tracks On drug users, gay communities Thousands died in the 1980s But when the “pure of soul” met demise With blood transfusions linked to lost lives AIDS won interest from politicians Lightning struck, they sprang into action Swine Flu can kill, but what’s the fuss? Other illnesses claim more of us Look back to the Fourteenth Century For true epidemiology Black Death caused widespread annihilation Nearly half Europe’s population The Smallpox deadly legacy Egypt-born, 1350 BC Fifteen million had this disease As recent as the 1960s Eradication finally defined December 1979 Return to Century Fourteen To find the world’s first quarantines Cholera ships confined to ports But still this plague reached landlubbers’ doors Regular flu in winter thrives Each week taking 800 lives Though common colds seldom spell doom Thousands flock to emergency rooms So answer this: Why all the hype When Swine Flue takes a gentler bite Newspaper headlines must be filled Across their banners Swine Flue spills Or could these reports be diversions For something more foul in our nation Are dogs now being wagged by their tails As health hazards go, the Swine Flu pales Hire Willie to write a theme song But don’t expect us to sing along Don’t blink, or Washington may think They’ve succeeded in this hoodwink