On the Madness of Summer (letter to New York City Department of Health concerning renewed spraying for West Nile virus) The mosquito is a vicious bird, A killer on the loose. Let one of these little vampires bite And you have cooked your goose. For West Nile Virus is a deadly pest, Just ask the squawking crows Tumbling like lemmings from each lofty nest In rigor mortis froze. This epidemic sweeps across Great tracts of the New York area, Killing an entire…person To rival malaria. So drench the air with toxic fumes, Snuff the epidemic out, Dissect the body of every insect And turn her inside out. (Before I go on, do not suppose This pronoun was sexist spite. Have not you read biology books? 'Tis only the females that bite.) The elderly citizen avengèd thus Will have good cause to thank The squirting campaign of arduous pains: That's karma in your bank. But the living, afflicted with asthma, Bronchitis and cancer too, Will call down vengeance on your head And righteous wrath accrue For using a cannon to swat a fly, For harming far more than you heal, For knowing the facts you dare not divulge But cravenly conceal. August 14, 2001