A Day in Quarantine

Felycitie Haney

Messy bun, pajamas, coffee –

you’d think I’d love the idea

of going to school online

but I’m over all the technical difficulties.

See, I hang out in my room all day.

I sit at my makeshift desk staring at my computer

doing all the work my teachers assigned,

taking part in zoom meetings online.

I think of quarantine as a holding cell,

like we are all prisoners in our own homes.

My mom says “oh, it’s not that bad” but

I disagree. I feel like I am going crazy.

It seems like forever since

I’ve seen my boyfriend. We go to

different colleges and now we’re finally home

and stuck in quarantine in different houses.

Dad comes home from work, he’s essential.

Mom’s in the kitchen finishing up a

yummy dinner. Hugs all around from dad

and pets to the pups. We sit around the table for dinner.

We talk about our day. Mom helped Nana

make masks, I did school-work all day,

and Bubba slept until noon,

eating his first meal at dinner time. 

After dinner, we clean up the kitchen and

make our way outside. The garden must

be watered, and the baby chicks and ducks

must be fed and put away for the night.

The baby chicks and ducks aren’t

100% sure how to get into their coop yet.

Mom and I have to crawl under the coop to

catch them and get all muddy in the process.

Time for showers, to wash away the mud.

Mom goes, then dad, and Bubba beats me to

the shower. When it’s finally my turn,

all the hot water is gone. UGH!

Bedtime is near. I take Wrigley

out one last time. Then we crawl into

bed. As our head hits the pillow, we

pray that quarantine will end tomorrow.

I based this poem off of First Day of Seventh Grade because reading it made me think about all the things I do differently for school now with COVID-19. It also represents my daily routine that has been created since quarantine has started.