A year ago I thought I caught a cold,
except it never moved the way mine do.
Bronchitis didn’t come. My body told
me virus penetrated, moving through
my upper torso to pollute my gut.
I’m old and never felt that way till then.
It took some weeks to pass – I don’t know what
it was, but I’ve not been unwell again.

And then the lockdown came – the house arrest
that shut me in and took away the meals
in restaurants, the bus rides and the train.
I started wearing masks. Like all, I stressed
about pandemic, answering appeals.
Throughout, I haven’t had a cold or pain.