The house is alive
With the sound of mucus,
The echoing hacks
Of throats that won’t clear.
The snot fills our lungs
With the sound of mucus,
My ears are so clogged
Yet the coughs, I hear.
(Ears are clogged, yet I hear.)
My son drips two bright yellow cords of the thickest goo
From his nose to his chin.
(To his chin.)
A jackhammer, buzz saw, and ten drum kits
Couldn’t make such a din.
He breathes like his chest is a bone cage full
Of eight live rattlesnakes.
(Rattlesnakes.)
He barks through the night,
And the coughing keeps us all awake.
I humidify,
Prop up heads on pillows.
My husband’s stuffed nose
Causes him to snore.
Our sleep is destroyed
By the sound of mucus,
And I’ll sneeze once more.