Lawrence Hall
Mhall46184@aol.com
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
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