The Novel Coronavirus: Haiku

The Novel Coronavirus: Haiku

John J. Han

“Because of all these things, and many others that were similar or even worse, diverse fears and imaginings were born in those left alive, and all of them took recourse to the most cruel precaution….” —Giovanni Boccaccio’s introduction to The Decameron (1353); trans. Richard Hooker.

1 Milan’s main square toured by pigeons only virus scare

2 only one passenger on the Grand Canal water bus coronavirus

3 virus scare soldiers exhausted after spraying disinfectant

4 epidemic death of a young woman who said she wanted to live

5 coronavirus shaking hands with what if

6 endless news on epidemic rising death tolls and falling stocks

7 cherry blossoms burgeoning of outbreaks of the coronavirus

8 spread of a virus rereading Boccaccio’s Decameron

9 virus scare recalling scholars who kept skulls on their desks

10 big cities hit by the virus tempted to emulate Desert Fathers

11 virus scare today more attentive to church bells

12 life like a mist turning to the book of James amid epidemic

13 Be still… trusting in His goodness amid confusion

Poet’s Note:

The sequence above was completed before March 11, 2020, when WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. Poem #7 previously appeared in the 2020 issue of Cantos, and poem #11 in the May 1, 2020 issue of Geppo.