The spread of COVID-19 across the world has forced disruptions in life. In Kenya, the government closed all learning institutions as one measure to curb the spread of the virus. Globally, over a billion and a half students cannot go to school after over 165 countries ordered nationwide closure of all learning institutions.
As governments experiment non-conventional classroom learning methods, some students have joined the fight against the pandemic. In Kenya, Selam Teshome, a 14-year old Hillcrest International School student, has written a poem on coronavirus disease. She calls the virus an “unwanted visitor” now “gradually devouring the country” leaving behind “nothing but remorse.”
Covid-19
A waiter, hairdresser and
Shoe-shiner sit
At their gelid window sills
Bathed in their tears
Children smothered by hunger
Silent in their beds
A rapping cough then warns of
The reaper’s visit
As the acrid wind sweeps over
Their emerging bones
The businessman, lawyer and
Accountant sigh
As the days and weeks fly past
With great sorrow
Leaving nothing but remorse
Holding on to
Jobs with broken finger-nails as
The feared guest sits
At the table, unwanted
Demanding what
They can’t give
Alas, the leader sits on
The guilty seat
The country is gradually
Being devoured
By the unwanted visitor
Who claims the lives
Of the children of the nation
No contrition
The land prays and hopes for the
Day
Corona will be history
By Selam Teshome
