Poems of the Week

German Welfare

by Julia Griffin

“Covid-19 expert Karl Friston: ‘Germany may have more immunological ‘dark matter’
[He explains this:] “people who are impervious to infection, perhaps because they are
geographically isolated or have some kind of natural resistance. This is like dark matter
in the universe: we can’t see it, but we know it must be there to account for what we can see.”
The Guardian

Though concealed from human sight,
There’s some Angelegenheit
Giving virus contravention
For authentic deutschen Menschen.
Every parent, aunt, and uncle
Has some substance, real though dunkel,
(Not mere mask or hasty hanky)
Keeping them from getting krank(y).
While we’re puking and/or mewling,
They therefore can savor Frühling;
While our health or incomes slacken,
Watch them Spaziergang machen!
Does some natural selection
Make them stärker als Infektion?
Is it geographic distance
Granting them this odd Resistenz?
Maybe there’s a magic circle
Drawn by their angelic Merkel;
Let’s just say (abjuring malice):
Deutschland’s scoring über alles.