The Blue Curtain
The ER is different
than I remember
the waiting room divided
by sheets of plastic
and the myriad of
questions
do you have a fever
have you been tested
have you been around
anyone who tested positive
do you have chills
loss of taste
these questions asked at
the door, at the check in
counter by the nurse
who wheels my Mom back
behind the blue curtain
and asked again by the
phlebotomist and finally
by the admissions clerk
these questions ringing in my
ears like bullets to the head
we sit and wait behind the
blue curtain
and I am not Oz
we are not in Kansas
there’s no red heeled clicks
to save us here
the shoes, their shoes are
all different colors
(red, purple, white)
but the uniforms all
blue, dark or sky
I sit in the room
behind the blue curtain
on a blue chair
while my Mom lays
on blue sheets
enduring needle pricks
and blood draws
over and over
I count the number of
blue gloves on the wall
the screens flicker numbers
I don’t understand
and it is quiet except for
the hum of machines
and the ambulance calls
to the center of the room
I have a patient
has a fever
has tested positive
can I bring her in
they tell him NO
NO the Covid hall is full
I sit double masked
sunglasses on to protect
my eyes from “it”
and read poetry
every book I have
(I didn’t bring enough books)
and I write a few
lines
enduring the myriad of
people appearing and disappearing
from behind the blue curtain.
L.B. Sedlacek’s latest poetry books are “The Poet Next Door” (Cyberwit Press), “The Architect of French Fries” (Presa Press), and “Words and Bones” (Finishing Line Press.) Her first short story collection, “Four Thieves of Vinegar & Other Short Stories” was published in February 2020 by Alien Buddha Press. LB’s poems have appeared in numerous journals and zines as “Adelaide Literary Magazine,” “Harbinger Asylum” “Cloudbank,” “Dash Literary Journal,” “Pure Francis,” “The Broad River Review,” “Mastodon Dentist” and others. Her short fiction has been published in such places as “October Hill” and “The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.” She teaches poetry at local elementary and middle schools, publishes a free resource for poets “The Poetry Market Ezine,” and was Poetry Editor for “ESC! Magazine.” LB also enjoys swimming, reading, and playing the ukulele.
Inlandia: A Literary Journey 