Please Stay Home and Save Lives

Afghan Voices
2 min readApr 30, 2020

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A poem by Mohammad Zaki Zaki

An empty street in Kabul

Somehow the quarantine days pass
It can be outstanding for the rich
It is a disaster for the needy
The quarantine days are really tough for some
They hasten death
No one has challenged them yet

I worry about….
The orphans who are out of bread and water
The families of martyrs who don’t have a breadwinner
The daily workers in the bazar

This is an unprecedented massacre
Warns all the globe
People attempt the maneuver of God’s creatures
And everything that he wishes
Nobody can deny it
Although some are rich
Nobody is free from harm nowadays

Corona is the headline of the news
Even in the most developed countries
Even with professional medicine
All are impotent in stopping it
Optimism is gone.

Here in Afghanistan
Here is a hell of justice
A hell of honesty
A place of horror
However, even before the virus,
we weren’t safe
For us this is just another tragedy, as usual,
That adds suffering to our lives
And brings mourning for all

Quarantine days warn the world
Try to behave like siblings
Try to live together
If you are a world power
If you are self-sufficient
Do not boast

Quarantine days bring a
message for the universe
That nobody is safe
Get ready for death
Get ready for accord

Know the value of life
Enjoy the happiness of life
Be happy with all
Prove your humanity
Freshen your hearth
Breathe deeply to touch others’ pain

Life is just for a while
It is just like a breath-taking
Like the rain of spring
Like a shadow on a wall
Like the second-hand of a clock
Like a hurrying passenger
The virus offers us an opportunity to touch
others’ lives as Bill Gates said

Nobody can stop its harm until it stops itself
It is just a virus
A perilous one that frightens the world
An unstoppable calamity that can stop all
No influential armor will stop it
No knowledge has been found yet to overcome it.

But it has caused suffering on every continent
In every religion, Muslims and Christians alike,
In every tribe, race and nation,
In my country, and in yours
From east to west
From north to south
From countries with little power
to the world powers
It has covered all with the same name,
Corona

It has also shown people how to
Cover each other in
Humanity and friendship
Love yourself and your neighbors
Share
Motivate your siblings
Respect your parents
Be genial with all humans
Understand that you can’t live exclusively
Know that you are associated with others
Remember these things
After the virus is gone

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Afghan Voices

Writing by Afghan writers. Editor/Publisher: Nancy Antle; Editor: Pamela Hart