14 Days

When a pandemic finally becomes real

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

14 days of not quite solitude
Just me, my thoughts, a fever, and a cough.

I cough some more,
and the spasms rack my body and burn my lungs.
I drift off into yet another dream.
I wake and check my temperature.
Is it morning, or is it night? What day is it?
I can hardly tell anymore.

The minutes and hours,
the days and even the weeks,
they all run together.

Just as I dare to hope that today
will be the day I feel better,
another fever creeps in.
My body and my mind are so very tired.

The world outside these four walls
is humming along.
My children are back at school,
my husband has gone to work,
my neighbors are living their lives.

Me? I’m still in bed.

For 14 days, my world is a bed, four walls,
and a bottle of Tylenol.