Covid-19: The war is not done
The writer hopes this poem drives home the message of vigilance amid jubilance and caution in the midst of hope as Singapore and the world fight Covid-19.
Professor William Hwang, medical director of the National Cancer Centre Singapore, wrote a poem as Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc across the globe. Although Singapore's daily count of new cases has come down and the mortality rate remains low, the outbreak could easily flare up here again if people let their guard down. He hopes this poem drives home the message of vigilance amid jubilance and caution in the midst of hope.
The battle is over but the war is not done,
The bugle has sounded and the night has come.
The enemy has retreated and our fallen returned,
Our ramparts nigh breached and city nearly burnt.
The false king with his crown of fear,
Has shed much blood with nary a tear.
He struts and poses with peculiar guise,
And strikes and deposes with much demise.
The battle is over but the war is not done,
The moon shines bright with light from the sun.
The onslaught defeated, may they never return,
Our fight near completed with victory hard-earned.
But the false king with his crown of 19,
Roams the earth still with his guillotine.
Readying his forces, waiting for a sign,
Listening to sources, biding his time.
The battle is over but the war is not done,
Hearts he has broken but our spirits soar high.
Our breath he has stolen but our voices still cry,
“Arise, arise, all sundry stand tall,
Together let’s fight till this enemy shall fall.”
A million souls are gone but here we remain,
To us they cry with one refrain.
“The battle is over but the war is not won.
Stay strong my friends...
The dawn will come.”
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