the “new” e-coli’s look is unforgettable, they say
like bricks stacked one on top of another
we could have learned brick-making from the virus
or the virus could have learned its shape from our walls
a virus exposed to brick walls
shape-shifting to astound its host
then the kidneys fail, and the wall strengthens
those front guards
at recalcitrant disease
their sturdy hope
-Susan Diridoni