Sick friend
Ah! Headache, chill and sullen ague
And gastro-intestinal plague
And such systemic symptoms vague
Might trouble one whom viruses affect.
But heatstroke is an equal curse
Whose signs can be as bad, or worse,
Where time – and water – is the nurse
To cure the woe, and from relapse, protect.
While friends who witness in affright
Have racing pulses, minds alight
With “is she going to be alright?”
No soothing answer can their thoughts collect.
The night-time magnifies my woes;
My mouth is dry, my heart is froze;
But soon my tired eyes must close;
In sleep, her course and mine will intersect.
Away, ye hissing mental snakes!
Away, ye frets! Away ye shakes!
And till she on the morrow wakes
I shall on “che sara, sara” reflect.