Yersinia pestis, the saddest moment in history,

The way it happened used to be quite the mystery.

The black plague spread like wildfire,

The need for disease control was dire.

75-200 million people’s lives were taken,

The rest who survived barely made it.

Coming from bacteria off trading ships,

Hitting faster than whips, who could predict.

They knew it came from us rats, probably our fleas,

Screaming and yelling as all the human's fleed.

It came somewhere along the silk road,

Hopping from country to country, like toads.

30-60% of the world’s population erased.

Could this be one of god's biggest mistakes?

Sweeping every soul off the earth with its rake,

Nothing to give & everything to take.

Raised the stakes, changed human faiths, bounced us rats all over the place.

And here we are years later, rats and humans still alive!

So stop and take a moment to admire how much we thrived.

Made it through the saddest moment in history,

The words dripping off pages with thick misery.

Let’s hope there’s never a disease so widespread again,

And pray for our health and survival, amen!