"Mother dearest, my body is shivering
I can’t comprehend why - in midst of July"
Mother dearest, perplexed at her kindred
Walks away from her offspring with tears in her eyes

Death calls her name
Chastisement for all her sins
"Men and women alike"

Castigate them, O Mother Messina
No exegesis, no rue on their lives
Sluggish symptoms consume their existence
Instantaneous closure of eyes
But this household demands explanation
They stare at her swellings, disturbed, terrified

Four tiny feet tap along the foundation
Intoxicated with pneumonic versions of hell
Sinking their teeth into flesh of delinquents
There is no evading - it’s inside the cattle as well

"I cannot breathe or bear this sensation
Behold this contagion
Who can I see?
The doctors and priests will not allow my facing"
The pain is writhing through her bones
Alas, her end is coming close
Malignancy travels by boat
Carried by chickens and by goats
Blood is spewing from the throat
You cannot quarantine by moat

No administration of last rites
"In men and women alike"

Decomposition does not rid these bodies
Of the Great Pestilence