Lawrence Hall
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poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Painter’s Cough
He tossed his
cigarette and introduced himself
And coughed
A weary old man with a
weary beard
He coughed
And came inside to
check the painting prep
He coughed
And was not happy with
the previous work
He wheezed
He began bringing in
his equipment and paint
He coughed
He gazed around the
rooms disapprovingly
He coughed
He sanded and he
sanded and he sanded
He coughed
He sanded and sanded all
morning long
He wheezed
He croaked, “Oh, man,
this dust’s getting’ to me”
He coughed
So he went outside for
a cigarette
(Presumably he coughed)
His methy helper
finally showed up
He coughed too
They griped about the
poor preparatory work
One wheezed, one
coughed
Neither wore a
respirator or mask
They coughed
And talked about a
nephew in jail again
They coughed
The helper offered me
some backstrap at lunch
He coughed
And was surprised when
I said, “No, thanks”
He wheezed
The contractor went
away for a while
The painters coughed
And spent more time outside
with their cigarettes
Presumably they
coughed
The plastic dust
sheets were silent and still
And never coughed
The painters took more
frequent breaks and smoked
And probably coughed
And so the weary day
wore itself out
The painters packed
their equipment and their coughs
And promised to return
tomorrow and finish
And clear away the piles
of dust and debris
And maybe they will
Cough
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