In purpose to uplift the spirit
I got up and said hey ho
I thought, if you could hear it
You’d likely say, hello
I heard your muffled cough
Through the ajar kitchen door
I dashed to see you, love
I passed the corridor
I popped into the sitting room
And checked the bedroom too
I smelled no Gatineau perfume
I saw no sign of you
It wasn’t a trick of tired mind
I’ve heard your cough, I swear
But you were out of sight
Just when I thought you’re there
Inside a room, or maybe
Out in the pretty wild
My garden on the balcony
It could’ve made you smile.
the humidity of reality
where hearts become cough drops
on a sticky bathroom floor
Three girls who drank from grey troughs
cried hard and rasped with loud coughs.
Cold cops raced to swoop
The girls took a poop
On top of their heads with scoffs.
A coughing coffin,
When befriending HIV —
A double trouble;
They both bring death in a private jet.
Its cough is tough,
Appetite grows tight,
Its fever can boil a river,
And weight is lost as death awaits.
Treat it — that’s how to beat it,
For death is a debt.
So don’t shrug off the drugs —
Complete them at least.
Stigma erupts like magma,
Losing friends becomes a trend;
Though the battle may rattle you,
Revival will bring survival.
'Ridiculous'
Is In The Craw
Of The:
Behold!
The Ridicular!
Empty,
Wasted,
Un-Enlightened
Layers Of
Fabricated
Settle-Ment.
-Gray Squirrel
06-30-2025
Like a smoker's cough
the dark bark of your rough skin
Married many times
Psychological means are not enough
when you have a persistent cough.
If you try to will it to stop,
you'll flip your lid or your top.
I wouldn't recommend a drop. It
won't work and syrup won't stop it,
unless its ingredient is codeine.
Then, you'll sleep well if you know what I mean.
Can you forget that piece of cheese
that you inhaled? Oh, just a crumb it was.
But breathing while chewing, then choking!
Was it Cheddar, Cheshire?
Or that Limburger, Parmesan?
But, oh, that piece of cheese!
Not a morsel you'll forget,
or a temporary amnesia that will bring you peace.
A double Gloucester, some feta or mozzarella?
What about that Parmigiana-Reggiano?
Better, far better, not to inhale
a piece of cheese. It's peace you need.
(8 Jan 2024)
The troublesome throaty explosion
For which demanded is handkerchief
That helps to hinder hell’s diffusion
By the thoughtless simple man or chief…
The oft-followed by a dragged-out gob
The owner sends straight to nearby soil:
What had tried to chesty freedom rob
And a whole day for sufferer spoils…
A scurrying for antibiotics
Or soon, the chest shall be again heaved:
Haphazard gestures of semiotics,
The jerkily thrown off guard retrieved…
The attacked with, first, expectorant:
Syrupy stuff that keeps it at bay;
For cough’s accursed cause a search warrant,
In one’s airways delightful free way…
Cough’s innocent picture throat-clearing
Yet, muffle for a laughter rearing…
Capsule of disguised danger warning
For one you wish to see, next morning…
am...tea
empt-tea-ed
now...
so...sew me
a...cof eh?
black...
with...three
sweet-ners
cof...
to...sweet-nurse
the...espresso
I hold it quite tattered
To have someone flattered,
All the time, some John mattered:
Such Johns are soon scattered!
Many still call me 'Prof',
Thank God some would just cough,
Saying it in a voice rough
Shows of being The Gruff...
Then failed is flattery
And charged my battery
While I dare mystery
Far from the jittery...
Then, the oft flattered
Is the oft battered.
Syrup for your cough
Before it gets rough
And you judge life 'Rough',
To the next man gruff...
For your cough:syrup
And it shall shut up!
You to again sup
And drink from glad cup
Repeat I: syrup
What shall you cheer up
Air tract decongest
Its blocked East and West...
And Septrin don't miss
Recommended kiss
For faster release
From choking unease
So says specialist
On Nobel cough list.
my...cough
in the grave...be
my...fun
fer-all...so
sip...smile
and put the lids...back
on...bottles
and...box
stans sand
Some people call me Prof
But with laughter round it off,
Some garnish it with cough;
Their loyal but amused hats doff;
Better than to at me scoff…
The most shy cease to be coy,
The heart cruel games would buoy
Shyness in any case some ploy
By he who could with another toy:
By some Ray about to cajole a Roy;
My Prof Nickname, a delicious noise
By a false eulogizing voice
That soon connects a sneeze
Men flee from with “Gees?”
.
*Image of Woman with face mask sneezing into elbow while shopping by iStock.
Silly Masqued Cough It
Silly masqued cough it,
sassed out her topic,
eating her words and meds,
"So long you deniers!"
one sat down beside her,
then stipend masqued cough it each day.
2022 February 06
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