Vicious Circle

Thomas Grys

Millions of them
in a handful of dust
multiply, mutate, mutilate.
Their pursuit of life delivering
delirium, disfigurement, death, decay.
These unclean unseen compete and defeat,
less humane than those that sustain and complete.
In time they prevail, we are no match—
our cell collectives readily dispatched.
Soul vessels bear soil as they rust,
returning millions of us
to a handful of dust.

The Science

The author was first inspired to write an early version of this poem during his first experience learning about microbes and disease in high school. When the pandemic influenza 2009 emerged, he revisited the poem and updated it, this time as a clinical microbiologist. COVID-19 was another sobering reminder of how microbes can severely affect the human population. The author returned to the poem once more as a reflection of the great tragedy of death and disruption caused by this pandemic. Inside the poem are several interwoven themes, both in form and concept. In addition to the main theme of a pathogenic organism causing disease, there is allusion to our own symbiotic microbiomes, and the waxing and waning of the line length of the poem reminds us of the cyclic nature of life. 

The Poet

Thomas Grys is a PhD Clinical Microbiologist who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has been fascinated with the natural world, turning to science to understand it and poetry to describe it. His professional work centers on ensuring high quality clinical microbiology testing and creating new approaches to diagnose infectious disease. He loves traveling with his family in their Airstream RV, hiking, cooking, and playing ultimate frisbee.

Next poem: Waves of microglial renewal across the human lifespan by Jane Flint Bridgewater