The Chinese Fledermaus

We are they that fly faster than fate;

We are they that make hospitals inflate;

From behind some Far Eastern Gate,

We now threaten your scanty built lair!

Not in cartridge nor magazine do we lie;

Nor on blood borne manifesto roll by;

Among those who chatter and try

Switching channels as they feed and they stare.

But we come on the many backs of trade

As before on the rats as a Plague

And we fell those we touch, with no blade;

As politicians bluster and scare.

We have come from the Yangtze to Spain

And one day we may do it again;

As we divide, into yet one more strain;

And we build a more treacherous loom!

Even now as you re-write the rules

? for the most part you are gullible fools

And while you struggle with unknown tools

Some feathers we’ll pluck from your plume!

So as you learn from the ways of the past

And to your current traditions hold fast

Be certain; we shall not be the last

To infect a future newsroom!

I read somewhere that the COVID-19 strain of 'flu was derived from Bats. Die Fledermaus is the Strauss opera that packs opera houses every New Year's Eve in Vienna. It is necessary to book seats years ahead. Whether or not there will be a performance this year is anyone's guess. With more than a nod to James Elroy Flecker, I put this one together as I conjectured with the idea that this virus strain has found its way to Europe on the back of trade, as did the Plague which was caused not by rats but by the fleas upon them.

Would anyone have credited a Bat with the capacity to lock down an entire nation and convince a Prime Minister that some of the most Draconian restrictions this country has ever seen that resemble (in parts) the Riot Act should be imposed?