Herd Immunity

We may survive this virus,
but you know we have greater afflictions
if we ask squatting children and parents
to close their eyes
while they are sprayed with sodium hypochlorite,
a compound so corrosive,
that when the BBMP sprayed it in our streets last week,
we all stayed indoors in our cocoons
as the liquid dripped down our doors and windows.

We may survive this virus,
but you know we have greater afflictions
when we use passports
to differentiate the vital from the vulnerable,
when we deem borders that separate nations
more porous
than the ones between our states.

We may survive this virus,
but you know we have greater afflictions
when instead of saving lives,
we play Sherlock,
cutting and shredding bits of evidence,
glueing them together
to nail a country for the pandemic,
and when we’ve played that tune often enough,
we wait for a chance
to vilify that one community again.

We may survive this virus
but how do we fix
this herd immunity
we have developed
against empathy?

Day 7 of the 21-day lockdown​ in India​

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