The Voice of Reason

“Ode to Giardia”

By: Brian Wells

You float around there happily,
in fresh water, mountain lakes and streams.
Your gastric side-effects a cause
of many severed dreams.

Of campers and hikers alike,
you result in watery, foul-smelling diarrhea.
And they would be wrong to think,
it was because of a bad tortilla.

Your trophozoites and cysts in stool,
are a key diagnostic factor.
But they’re often suspected and checked for,
after a bloating and flatulent disaster.

With metronidazole and tinidazole,
I’ll know you’ve met your match.
From all my patients you’ll be banished,
no chance for an escape hatch.

Filed under: Poetry |