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Sick Days

  • Writer: Katherine Tatsuda
    Katherine Tatsuda
  • Aug 13
  • 1 min read

Sick days: body aching, brain slow, strawberry jam plushie on standby.
Sick days: body aching, brain slow, strawberry jam plushie on standby.

I’ve been really sick the last couple of days.

Covid? Head cold?

Upper respiratory infection?

Pneumonia? The flu?

No idea.


So I’m holed up in my bedroom,

drinking way too many fluids, surrounded by tissue,

and bouncing between Netflix, TikTok, ChatGPT, Google Analytics, and Wix…

all while the Schwab Solutions Virtual Event plays in the background.


It’s only 8:37 a.m.


I hate being sick.

Not just because my body aches and my brain feels slow,

but because my mental and emotional defenses get weak.


When I’m healthy, I can keep the hard thoughts and heavy feelings at a distance.

But when I’m sick, they crash through the door like they were invited.


I hate it.


This isn’t new for me. I know I’ll feel better soon.

But after everything I’ve lived this year,

I am so tired of telling myself, again—

We will make it through the day.

Katherine Tatsuda

Author | Poet | Human

Based in Ketchikan, Alaska

© 2025 Katherine Tatsuda | All Rights Reserved 

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