Photography © Chad Parenteau

 

Covid Monster

He tailgated me,
without warning,
the sneaky Covid monster
clobbered me,
wormed his way
into my bloodstream,
brought the possibility
of death into my life.
He climbed
inside my body,
invaded me,
like a bold rapist
in the night.
I felt like I was
shaken up,
steamrolled,
then left
on the street
as road kill.
He stalked me
when I wasn’t
paying attention,
when I thought
I was in the clear.
Be gone Covid
Monster!
I screamed
like a priest
chasing at an
exorcism.
And one day,
he left the
comfort of
my ample flesh,
waiting, hunching
then striking
his next victim
with devastating
precision.
Rude bastard!

 

Terry Loncaric is the author of two original collections of poetry, Poetry in an Age of Panic (Kelsay Books) and Crashing in Velvet (Finishing Line Press). She is working on a third book of travel narratives. She has worked as a newspaper editor, feature writer, and educator. All of these worlds seem to collide in her poetry. She lives in Hampshire, Illinois.

Chad Parenteau is Associate Editor of Oddball Magazine.