It fascinated me that several so-called nursery rhymes actually contained in a few simple sentences the essence of major historical events that occurred in medieval Europe. We are in the midst of a very historic event by way of the Covid-19 pandemic, and I was keen to capture it in a few sentences. The poem contains information on the onset and spread of the pandemic, the preparedness and response of governments and people, and identifies those disproportionately impacted both by the virus and the response measures. The term “crown” was used to represent both the virus and pandemic because of the literal translation of “corona” being crown, and also because it has indeed ruled the world and our minds for several months. The language is crude because of the style adopted. As a doctoral student at the threshold of completing a thesis in public health, holed up in a hostel room for over a month now, far from home, feeling a bit helpless to contribute otherwise, I used this opportunity to channel some of my creative energy into this poem.

Little that this crown brought was gold

Little that this crown brought was gold,

Not all those who carry on are calm;

Deep were the warnings foretold,

Insidious was the cold night’s storm.

While the crown sits tight on the broken,

The strong shall tide the spring;

The wretched face fire that is stoken,

For this crown has shaken kings.

Disclosure/Acknowledgement: The poem was stylistically inspired by JRR Tolkien’s “All that is gold does not glitter”, from The Lord of the Rings.