I tested positive Saturday morning, and have lived
with covid, the fever, the chills, and the body ache,
since, but now, as of this past Monday, there’s a new
kid in town, this blasted Headache looking to make
its reputation by taking on the fastest draw around.
I‘m still here, even if you’re not, screams the Mach-12
shooting pain in my brain. Well, yes, I’m still here and
hey, I feel you, man. These flashing pains in my head
are like bursts of lightning going off, brief, jagged pops
of eye-squeezing, muscle-clenching pain that make me
whimper at their style of torture, so exquisitely refined.
Ibuprofen helps, but you’re not supposed to take two
or three an hour, are you? I’d say something’s not right.
Recall the game where you lay one hand, palm down,
flat on a table, then take a sharp knife in the other and,
fast as you can, you hit the table between each finger
with the knife point, going rapidly back and forth until
you either stab a finger or stop enjoying yourself?
What’s happening in my head is like that game,
only the person playing’s a geriatric with crippling
arthritis. He’s moving slowly, but he still manages
to slice a bit of his finger every 10 seconds or so,
unless he has his ibuprofen. Then he sees the error
of his ways and gives up this game that’s no fun
at all, until the next time his medication gives out
Like the last guest at the soirée, Headache watched
Fever, Chills, and Body-Ache go home, then turned
to me, saying, How about a board game? Monopoly?
Lanning Lee 