In silent soil and unseen breath,
Polio spread, a whisper of death.
Invisible foe in crowded street,
Where sanitation fails, the virus creeps.
A hand unwashed, a cough, a sneeze,
A simple touch where caution flees.
Through lives it moves with secret stealth,
Turning strength to waning health.
Most feel no chill, no fevered sway,
But some find sickness on the way.
A fevered head, a weary sigh,
Mild symptoms passed without a cry.
Yet for a few, the pain runs deep,
Muscles strain, then fail to keep.
Legs once strong refuse to stand,
As nerves unwind like desert sand.
In the dark of spine and nerve,
The virus strikes where it will curve.
Leaving shadows, aches, and tears,
Pain that haunts for years and years.
But hope arrived—a drop, a spark,
A vaccine to unchain the dark.
Oral or injected, shield and guard,
Against a foe once fast and hard.
Through towns, through fields, the droplets run,
Erasing fear one child by one.
Polio’s power wanes and fades,
In the light of health, the fight is laid.
So may we keep the shadow gone,
In every life, a brighter dawn.
With vigilance, the world can see
A future safe, and polio-free.
