Birds and pigs are catching flu
And it may be that you do too
For unlike us, it seems diseases
Do not disentangle species

Although creation’s subtle art
Contrives to set ourselves apart
The microbes do not care a jot
And clearly see what God does not

So somewhere in our species’ mix
We get fooled by the same old tricks
And on an evolutionary stem
Find something linking us and them

Or maybe it’s a simple jape
Set out to fool the naked ape;
To humble pride; a jest that teases
When the little piggy sneezes.

I think though, there’d be less a fuss
If they were catching flu from us.