I had a bad reaction
To the Covid booster shot,
A pattern that repeats
With every one I ever got.
On top of feeling sick, I had
Some problems with my phone.
My email wasn’t working
And to raving I am prone.
I’ve started feeling better
And my email finally works.
(An Apple agent cleared things up,
Among the iPhone’s perks.)
My day was not the greatest
But it feels wrong to complain.
After all, it’s 9/11
And those memories remain.
I got my Covid shot today
And so far, I feel A-OK,
Yet what I really want to say
Is f*** you, Jr. R.F.K.
Each year, I get the booster shot
And, whether you agree or not,
We all deserve the chance for what
Most scientists endorse a lot.
Vaccines won’t work if people heed
What R.F.K. says we don’t need.
At least some states will now proceed
With keeping people up to speed.
My band-aid proves I got the stick,
Which didn’t hurt and ended quick.
I’d rather have a little prick
Than one who’s quite the lunatic.
the shift no Adam
not a goofy frozen stiff
but a real shift
one you might hate
the one you want off
the one sent around
a conscience booster shot
that will inflame
the poor kid's heart
conspicuous waddle
thinking
while trying to juggle
A talent type show
using blah blah blah,
blah
I had my second booster shot
And energetic, I am not.
I’ve gotten past the needle’s ouch
But can’t get off my cozy couch.
With no set plans, I am content
To hang around, the hours spent
With rest and music that sustains,
The vaccine coursing through my veins.
The booster shot I just acquired
Is making me overly tired
And I can’t dispute
I’ve a headache to boot,
Not the outcome that I had desired.
My reactions to shots 1 and 2
Were like having a mild kind of flu.
Still, this dosage was not
Like the first ones I’d got
So I thought I would simply sail through.
Though I’m glad my immunity’s raised
And the powers-that-be should be praised,
Hope I feel better fast
And this shot is my last
For one more and I’ll be a bit crazed.
Could that ruby throated hummingbird be God?
Fanning smiles-igniting sighs in brief thimbles of time...
To help temper the graying emptiness of our swirling lives.
Then just as quickly as they arrive, they flit away with our sighs.
There's nothing left but twin pits of black and blue regret.
Always testing our hobbled faith -day upon day upon...day.
Praying with all our might for a booster shot
of sweet shimmer from a pristine avian God.
Then a wisp of something arrives, in a silver slip of sundial time
before hopeful moments are scuttled
on the reef of our drifting minds.
Some will call it a miracle.
others will cackle...coincidence.
If I kissed it, would that make it better?
Are you needing much more than a friend?
Would it help if I held you so deep in my love
That your "breath fears" would fade in the end?
Let me see the dark places you’re hurting,
“Lay on hands” where you feel there’s a void,
Whisper, “Shh,” to the sources of noise in your life,
“Guard your back” as you work through annoyed!
Or is booster shot all that is needed?
Will your day be OK on your own?
Are you looking to share a new friend that you’ve made,
Me to ask “How’s your day?” on the phone?
All these things Love, are yours for the asking!
Hidden things too, that I've yet to give,
There's no firm expiration date that I control
Long as “I’m on the street where you live!”
Glad to sacrifice life for love’s meaning,
If the purchase costs me only time,
It seems you are the heart of the world’s poetry,
And the word I am hoping to rhyme.
When you're gone, I can get so impatient,
It's like somehow life's rhythm is missed,
If this simplest of verses can bring you some joy
Then smile twice, for you just have been kissed!
Brian Johnston
March 1,2017