Yellow Fever
By Janis Thompson
The yellow FEVER spared not EITHER woman, child or MAN
New Orleans’ DREAD was the many DEAD to bury on the LAND.
Suffering UNDER a disease of WONDER they couldn’t UNDERSTAND,
in 1852 they never KNEW the mosquito had a HAND.
The yellow FEVER spared not EITHER black, white, rich or POOR.
You feared the MARK of “Y” so DARK, if painted on the DOOR.
Some felt the DANK of swamp so RANK had caused cases to SOAR
not to KNOW the MOSQUITO was making much the GORE.
The yellow FEVER spared not EITHER young or pretty FACE.
When you took SICK, they moved you QUICK away to the Leper PLACE.
Lazaret Island was WHERE those full of DESPAIR became a hopeless CASE.
It was THERE that time and tide would WEAR, human beings to WASTE.
They had to SURVIVE to 1905 when the last epidemic OCCURRED.
By then they KNEW the mosquito was CLUE and cleanliness, was the WORD.
They took off the MASKS and boldly ASKED, “What practices are ABSURD?”
Mosquitoes to BLAME Max Theiler got FAME when a new vaccine was HEARD.
