Sign Of The Times

I tested positive for Covid the other day

First with an at-home test kit which I never fully trust

And then confirmed by one of those pop-up test sites,

Trust in the home test was affirmed,

Much like learning to trust the GPS to unknown destinations.

 

I feel shame about this

Like I did something wrong, and this was punishment from God

You see, my sister and I just returned from Las Vegas

A family reunion of sorts with my brother and sis-in-law

I am the only one smitten, a blessing

I would forever feel guilty if they, Mama, and others

Were snared in the sticky web of contagions.

 

It’s been a long time since I have been sick

Coughing, sleepless nights, and aches long forgotten

Until Covid made me whine along with low-grade fever

And bones melted into paper inserts, barely able to hold me firm

Codeine became the drug of choice to let me slide away at night.

 

Like magic, groceries and mandoo soup

Appear with a knock at my door but no sign of my son or sister,

My Wahiawa brother laughed and said I am a prisoner

I should put a meal slot in my front door—

To be fair, he loaned me his pulse oximeter

To reassure me of enough oxygen to my brain

My Las Vegas sis-in-law said Covid is the new flu

Every household gets it, her extended family in Cali all have it.

 

All acts of kindness that do not remove the Covid stain

Or my uneasiness about the Great Resignation.