somewhere it sleeps in endless winter

potential energy, patient hibernation
a machine that does not rust
a predator that does not tire
somewhere it sleeps in mechanical winter
waiting, hungry, always ready
a killer that does not distinguish
a weapon that does not sheathe
somewhere it sleeps in artificial winter
while men plot their enemies’ demise
a virus that should be extinct
a virus that still exists

“The virus’s last strategy for survival was to bewitch its host and become a source of power. We could eradicate smallpox from nature, but we could not uproot the virus from the human heart.”– The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story, Richard Preston