This poem is composed by A Nepali poet Vishnu S.Rai. This poem is an eye opener to the human beings . As the title is clear, here we find corona saying something to human beings. Corona is the speaker. Hundreds of thousands of lives have gone due to this pandemic along with economic ruin. But here the speaker rejects the blame of the destruction upon it self. The speaker says that humans are responsible for the advent of corona in this world. It was invited here. It didn't come on its own. Corona is the product of irrational and irresponsible behaviour of humans towards nature. Humans think themselves to be the master of the earth and atmosphere, and trifles with nature. Humans should know that the earth is not made for them only, it is a common shared habitat of all the living and not living things. The irony is that human beings think that they know every thing, but they don't know themselves well. So corona suggests humans to know themselves well. Finally the speaker warns humans saying that if still they don't correct themselves, many more such epidemics and pandemics will visit the world again again.

1. Corona Says
By:
Vishnu S. Rai
SUDIP BAGCHI

2. Poet's Profile
ØName: Vishnu S. Rai (1951 .. )
ØRetired Professor of English Language Education
ØResearcher, Writer, and Poet:( Writes both in Nepali and English)
ØMajor works:
A. Martyrs and Other Stories (Stories)
B. Realities (Play)
C. Naudanda Pari (Travelogues)
D. Paheli (Novel Nepali)
E. Sudama (Semi Epic in Nepali)
F. Other collections like Jeevan, (Collection of Nepali Poems)and Vagabond verses (A
collection of English poems)

3. Major Themes
of the Poem
➢ The present world crisis Corona and its devastating
impact on humans
➢ Corona is the outcome of human's irrational and
irresponsible behaviour to the earth and the universe
➢ Corona can't be held responsible for any death and
destruction in this period
➢ Humans think themselves to the king or master of the
earth. So they have always exploited it for their
selfishness. Humans think the other lives to be
their slaves
➢ Earth is the shared habitat of all the living things
➢ If still we don't change our attitude, many more such
epidemics and pandemics will be coming in future

4. Paraphrasing the poem : 1st Stanza
Corona Says
Stop crying,
Oh man,
Stop cursing me
And listen.
I didn't come here
Of my own free will.
This poem is in the form of dramatic monologue. Here
corona is the persona, addressing human beings. Here
we find it presenting the other side of the corona
effects on the world. This poem is from the perspective
of Corona. It holds humans to be only responsible for
the pandemic.
In this first stanza, Cororna tells humans to stop crying
and cursing it for all the death, destructions and ruins in
this (corona) period. It claims that it didn't come to the
world by its own free will and choice.

5. Paraphrasing : 2nd Stanza
I was invited.
Believe me,
I had no choice,
But to visit you.
How many lives were lost
Because of me?
You count.
But have you ever counted
How many have died so far
Because of you and your wars?
In this second stanza, the speaker (corona) makes a case for
it-self. It categorically says that instead of coming to the
world on its own, it was invited (it was brought), and had no
choice but to come. It was not it's intention or desire to
come in the earth.
So why do humans count the death toll because of it.
Millions of people have died even due to other irrational
human activities like wars and many more.
Similarly people are dying of corona too. It's not the fault of
it (corona), rather it is human's fault. They should not have
brought corona in the world.

6. Death and
Destruction in
Battle Fields

7. Paraphrasing : 3rd Stanza
You will call yourself
'The crown of creation'.
What about the others,
Those who fly in the sky,
Those who live in the ocean,
Those who crawl on the earth,
And those, the sources of your oxygen?
You think they all are your slaves
Who you can sell or kill
At your will.
In this whole stanza, the speaker tells that human beings
think themselves to be the king or the master of the whole
earth and the entire creation.
They forget that the earth is a shared habitat of all the
living things. It's not for humans only that the God
has created the earth.
Humans think that it is their right to sell or kill or use the
other living things in their own benefits, at their will.

8. Paraphrasing : 4th Stanza
Don’t blame me.
I just wanted to show you
How clean the blue sky looks
Without dust and smoke.
I wanted you to realise
How caged animals feel
In a zoo.
In this stanza the speaker rejects again the blames against itself. Corona
is not responsible for such devastating deaths and ruins.
Here it holds a mirror to humans by presenting the positive changes
have occurred on Earth after the speaker's visit. The earth has been
pollution free, without dust and smoke. The sky again looks blue.
After living confined in their houses for longer times, humans have
understood how the caged animals feel like in lifelong imprisonment.
Humans are responsible for such inhuman activity.
In fact the speaker wanted people to realize it.

9. A highly polluted city: Result of
irresponsible human behaviour

10. Pollution Free Blue Sky

11. Poor Caged Animals: How Helpless They Feel !

12. Paraphrasing : 5th Stanza
I came
Not to give you a test.
I came
So that Mother Earth
Could have a little rest.
In this little stanza the speaker tells its purpose of coming
on this earth . I hasn't come to give humans any
test. Rather it has come so that the mother earth could
have a little rest.
This indicates that in the entire corona period, as all the
human activities were almost to a stop, the mother Earth
and nature had a relief from the different human activities
which inflicted pain and pollution to them.

13. Paraphrasing : 6th Stanza
You claim that you know
everything.
I just wanted you to know
yourself
The earth is not your property
alone -
It’s as much ours as yours.
Humans claim that they know everything. It's only their self-
pride and arrogance. But the irony is that humans don't even
know themselves properly.
So Corona says that it wanted us to know humans
properly first.
Although we claim tokbnow everything, we don't know the
simple thing that neither we are the masters of the world, nor it
is our personal property.
The earth is a shared habitat of all the living and non-living
things. It is as much ours, as much theirs.

14. Paraphrasing Continued .. 7th Stanza
Sure,
I will depart one day.
But remember
There’re many others like me.
They’ll come too.
If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,
You’ll be back to your cave time
That you endured
Long, l o n g, l o n g ago ...
This is the last and important stanza. Here we find the
speaker both suggesting and warning human beings. No
doubt the Speaker (corona) is not staying here for ever.
For sure, it will go back one day.
But if we don't change our attitude and don't give up
our ego and self-pride, many more such epidemics and
pandemics will haunt us with still more death and
destructions.
Not only that, our activities will finally take us back to
the prehistoric time (cave time), when people used to
live in caves and used to hunt for food.

15. Ancient People Living in Caves and Hunting for Food