If I Don’t Have COVID, Who Does?
(The answer may require a stethoscope)
This morning as I drove off to work,
I heard a sound that made my Honda jerk.
A cough exploded and I worried I’d become sick
as it echoed in my ears. Was I anemic?
If I could not breathe, surely I had COVID-19
and my skin would turn yellow-green.
I rammed a thermometer in my mouth
and donned a stethoscope to check inside my blouse.
Even with a coffee in one hand I could tell my heart
was still beating — I wasn’t falling apart.
I was relieved that my blood pressure was okay
and that I didn’t have COVID toes today.
But the question remained — if I’m not ill, then who?
The passenger seat; empty. No Catholics, not even a Jew!
I used my imagination: Had I kidnapped a skunk …
and left the coronavirus infested fellow in the trunk?
Nay, said the baritone and mezzo-soprano voices in my head,
who reminded me that the skunk was with my wife in bed.
