"The Cough"
In the kitchen at breakfast, I cough.
In the supermarket aisles and checkout line, I cough.
Coaching lacrosse practice, I cough.
Waiting in line at Chipotle, I cough.
Pumping gas, I cough.
Receiving a delivery at my front door, I cough.
Driving with my friends, I cough.
Standing in line at the CVS pharmacy, I cough.
With my grandparents at dinner, I cough.
As I say goodnight, I cough.
Coaching lacrosse practice, I cough.
Waiting in line at Chipotle, I cough.
Pumping gas, I cough.
Receiving a delivery at my front door, I cough.
Driving with my friends, I cough.
Standing in line at the CVS pharmacy, I cough.
With my grandparents at dinner, I cough.
As I say goodnight, I cough.
I cough.
I do not say it's allergies.
I do not say that I have something stuck in my throat.
I do not cover my mouth.
I do not apologize.
I let their pandemic fear reveal itself.
Coughing, I am verbally questioned.
Why are you coughing?
Are you sick?
Cover your mouth.
Do you have Covid?
Have you tested?
Are you vaccinated?
Are you boosted?
Put on a mask.
Are your friends coughing?
Are your friends sick?
Do you have a fever?
Have you seen a doctor?
I feel uncomfortable.
You should leave.
I should leave.
Let's go.
Coughing, I am physically shunned.
Heads pop up.
People look around to find the culprit.
They stare at me.
Was I the one coughing?
They wait.
I cough again.
I see their alarm.
Judge and jury
They rule Covid as my fate.
Giving me the death stare
They cover their face with their elbow.
They move away.
I am a pariah.
I am a threat.
No concern, no comfort.
I am unwelcome.
Fear. Judgement. Shame.
DO NOT COUGH! DO NOT COUGH! DO NOT COUGH!
For this walk, I experimented with(in) my daily life, on my daily "path," creating a performance by choosing one small, but very powerful modification to the fabric of my daily life, for an entire day, in both public and private spaces. There was no spectacle, but only the small modification of coughing. This modification introduced significant differences in how I was perceived, welcomed, and accepted within the spaces around me, differences resulting from the perception that the cough is now a marker of Covid19, a deadly virus that, for a time, stopped the entire world in its tracks.
Coughing in 2022, there is no longer sympathy, but only fear.
YOU MUST NOT COUGH!
It's really crazy to see how much attention a simple cough can get after COVID-19 swept across the world. In a way it's kind of funny, cause I have also seen others get wide-eyed and immediately turn their head in fear to see who just coughed, or even sneezed.
ReplyDeleteLike Ryan said - it's hard to believe that in such a short time a simple cough can carry so much weight now. I have pretty bad allergies and find myself apologizing a lot for sneezing or being congested. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteVery descriptive walk, the only thing I could think of to add would be a time stamp. Maybe when you started and when you stopped the performance so it does not get redundant.
ReplyDelete