A little bird has confided in me

That in your small carapace lies the key

And teaming masses yearning to live safely

Cry out as one for a demonstration

The good people at Caltech do their best

And make nanoparticles that will pass the test

To kill the viral cells, but leave the rest

Alive and without harmful depletion

And now, we think we’ve won the war at last

And so put an end to a harmful past

Killed the plague that infects the host so fast

And sentences death upon mutation

Alas, my friend, the good news comes too late

Such stories and demos, they will not slate

Our growing demands, or prevent the fate

That foretells of your gory extinction

Note: For those following the A to Z challenge, I apologize for the late posting of my entry for April 11th (or J day). Which is why I’ve posted both J and K today. And just in case you’re wondering what today’s entry is all about, it’s a tragic ode to the Bee, since it is now known that Bee venom is capable of killing HIV, but which comes at a time when the global Bee population is being depleted due to urban sprawl, pollution and loss of natural habitats.

And in keeping with my sci-fi roots, I wrote this poem as if it were dedicated from the near future, where the Bee population had become extinct and the chance for a cure for HIV effectively lost. It’s also written in iambic pentameter and has a rhyme scheme of AAAB, CCCB, DDDB, EEEEB. Hope you enjoyed it and were suitably depressed!