Poison, Venom, Infection

There’s danger
in poisonous lands and water;
simply being there
and breathing
is enough to make you
sicken and die.

There’s danger
among the venomous;
if you know
where to look
and how to armor up
you may walk there but

if you
blow your cover
and your armor fails,
a single sting 
may get through
and be enough. 

There’s danger
where the infectious
roam free, spewing 
plagues and slipping germs
past your defenses when you thought
you’d done enough.

You can’t stay safe inside forever;
you are going to have to leave
the safe house one day.
Down the block, all over the country,
you see houses with trouble flags
and deadly yard signs.

Is the air around them infectious?
Are your neighbors in fact venomous?
Are these signs that the whole damned world
is poisonous and this is what 
a mass casualty event looks like as it begins?
Are you enough for whatever comes next?