Hypoglycemia during the COVID-19 Crisis

She is on the stairs.
Hears two 
sacks of potatoes 
dropping. The sound, 

body hitting tile.
The image, dark 
rag doll drenched 
between toilet and wall.

He is Black.
Too afraid
to go to the hospital.
Too afraid

to be denied 
a ventilator. 
Too afraid 
to suffocate alone. 

Remembering 
Tuskegee,
she plays nurse. 
Googles symptoms.

Takes his vitals
with her own hands.
Feeds him chocolate 
from her palm. 

ξ

Shawn R. Jones is the author of two poetry chapbooks, Womb Rain (Finishing Line Press 2008) and A Hole to Breathe (Finishing Line Press 2015). Her poetry chapbook, Womb Rain, is #61 in Finishing Line Press’ New Women’s Voices series. Her poetry has also appeared in Essence, Challenges for the Delusional, and the River Heron Review’s debut issue. She has a poem forthcoming from Peregrine Journal. Shawn is the owner and operator of Tailored Tutoring LLC and Kumbaya Academy, Inc., and she is a jazz dance instructor at Halliday Dance. She is a 2019 graduate of Rutgers-Camden’s MFA Program.