© 2013 I.B. Iskov

I.B. (Bunny) Iskov is the former Poetry Reviews Editor for the People's Poetry Letter and she is the former Poetry Editor of The Outreach Connection, a volunteer position held for over ten years. Bunny is the Founder of The Ontario Poetry Society. www.theontariopoetrysociety.ca

Her work has been published in several literary journals and anthologies. She has two full collections and lots of chapbooks. In 2009, Bunny was the recipient of the inaugural R.A.V.E. Award== Recognizing Arts Vaughan Excellence in recognition of outstanding contribution to the cultural landscape of the City of Vaughan. The award is for Art Educator / Mentor in the Literary Arts. Bunny's third full collection, In a Wintered Nest, was published in July, 2013 by Serengeti Press. "Chronic Cough" is from that collection.

Chronic Cough


In my spackled syndrome,
there is no poetry.
Life is a stutter, a chopping hush.
Mysteries coagulate into heart-stopping blurs.
I gasp for breath and choke,

grow smaller in my throat.
My throat is scared scarred.
How I wish for a good night's sleep
without the dog barking inside my chest.

No matter how many times I swallow
codeine, candies, pride,
I still find myself groping for air,
voice is threadbare and shrunk.

The long slow burn of a thousand phrases
caught in one brief hard cough.
My thoughts grown cold
though I'm covered with blankets.