Feeling wheezy, feeling cold
Body's aching feeling old
Throat is hurting, head feels hot
Coughed a bit, but not a lot
Tad concerned, alarm bells warning
Let’s asses it in the morning.
Keyboard tapping, hold music playing
Page refreshing, no sites displaying
Self isolation, children crying
Back out of school, tablet relying.
Hours passing, fever rising
Still no test sites, unsurprising.
Success at last, just one hour driving
Strict instructions upon arriving
No window opening, no alighting
Feels apocalyptic, wee bit frightening
Signs displaying, message repeating
Masked faces beckon with soundless greeting.
QR code scanning, window lowering
Tissue passing, quick nose blowing
Throat swab scraping results in gagging
Efficient, swift, sample bagging
Then just as quick, swab’s returning
Far up the nose, nostrils burning.
Driving home watery eyes still flowing
Pause to dab to see where going
Back to wait, results are pending
Praying isolation won’t be extending
Next day symptoms are still lurking
Joy! Result is negative . . .
. . . shame app’s not working!
By Michelle Stevens