Language Is A Virus.

William Burroughs once said:

"Language is a virus from outer space."

I can think of others,

Though their origins

May not be as exotic.

Love is a virus:

It strikes without warning,

After close contact,

Although there is no chance

Of infecting those around you.

They just watch you go crazy

And die... or get married.

Hate is a virus:

It lives deep inside us

And seems to spread after meetings

Or exposure to certain

Webpages where we find

Other people with the same virus

And choose to isolate ourselves

With the very people who

Infected us in the first place.

Children are a virus:

They are contagious,

You see other people having them

And telling you how great it is

So you say: why not?

Then realise they were lying.

Politics is a virus:

Those infected become delusional,

Thinking they can make a difference

From the inside, that they

Wont be corrupted by lobby groups,

Interest groups, the demands

Of Real Politic and the dulcet tones

Of Mattias Corman whispering

In their ears: "'Is' is the third syllable

In compromise."

Work is a virus:

It leaves us depleted, underpaid,

Open to irrational behaviour,

Like filling up the time

When we are not working

With crap activities which

We pretend to enjoy,

Like Ice Skating or Bowling.

At least if language is a virus,

It allows us to talk about other viruses,

Which may be its ultimate victory:

Humans without language would be lost.

All this just proves Burroughs's point:

While the virus does its work,

All the attention is back on the host.

© shaun patrick green 2020