The Quarantine Chronicles, Day 5

DAY 5: The balconies are singing

Italian nonnas are singing

the friars are singing

la la la

my friend calls it joy

I call it silly

folks are dying
folks are crying

why try 

to feign allegria

hey, we're walkin' here

I want to be angry, depressed

let the dread sink in deep

let my bones feel sick

maybe I just want my own virus

through and through

to be a protagonist

go out with a bang

to be on people's minds

in their prayers, says the non-believer

dress me in the plastic suit

give me a king-sized ration

of pure oxygen, let me hear the final hmm

he's strong, he should pull through.

Last evening I got a chill

out on the damn balcony

I went to bed early not to sleep

but to avoid the TV

I thought I had a fever

could feel it rise like a sea monster
coming up for air

I've got it, first symptom

I'd looked it up on the internet

the thermostat gave me the bad news:

normal, merely normal

you're not special yet, bud

go sing, a song, a smiley one

try being happy

or fake it,

survivor.