Meet the Microbes!

Just like people, microbes come in all varieties, too many to keep count. The eleven haikus below appreciate the far-reaching impact they exert upon human health, and remind us that regardless of our plight on Earth, these little suckers are here to stay.

Vibrio cholerae

Toxin from prophage

Opens cell junctions spurring

Insatiable thirst

Staphylococcus aureus

Resists wonder drugs,

Filling faces with acne,

And graves through sepsis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa 

Shines bright turquoise like

Algae (how pretty!) waiting

For the right patient

Neisseria meningitidis

Humans its sole host,

Punctures with pili into

Phagocytes abound

Salmonella bongori

From a town in Chad

The name has made itself known

From lizard to man

Yersinia pestis

Bubonic plague spreads

Sparing none the misery

Of kin stained black, dead

Mycobacterium tuberculosis 

Gram-stain resistant

Masters of macrophages,

Lung colonizers

Streptomyces coelicolor 

Exuding earthly

Scents and extruding such

Potent treasure troves

Deinococcus radiodurans 

Weathers the worst of

Ice, acid, radiation,

Trump card come Earth’s end

Thermus aquaticus 

Thermal vents steam,

Honoured to stake PCR

For posterity

Helicobacter pylori

Agent of ulcers,

Barry Marshall its bearer,

Science knows no bounds.