Side Effects

Sitting in the pharmacy 
waiting to see if the booster will show
side effects this time or not — 
and when it doesn’t,

I leave when my allotted time is up
and rush to go and buy things 
I admit I feel I need more
than this cautionary injection

but the doctors are saying “surge”
at the same time they are saying
“it’s all over”  and while I do understand,
I do understand why they can and do,

such contradictory words are so much
a part of the current walk and talk
that purchasing anything from
catnip to chips to canned corn

offers more hope and certainty
than all the drugs and treatments
the doctors can offer to defeat
the wearying waves

of suffering and dread
that never seem
to stop breaking
over us.