Poems with Lois Letchford - Bad Cold by Shel Silverstein

7 Dec 2020 · 2 min

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1:47

In this YouTube video, author and literacy advocate Lois Letchford introduces herself and her memoir, then performs a solo reading of Shel Silverstein's poem "Bad Cold" from the collection Falling Up. She delivers the poem with expressive pauses and humor, emphasizing the escalating sneeze metaphors and absurd solutions to a relentless cold. Mid‑reading, she notes the relevance of the poem's chaotic energy to the ongoing COVID‑19 pandemic, adding a brief reflective comment. The video concludes with a typical YouTube call to like the video and subscribe to the channel.

Chapters

Hello, I'm Lois Letchford, author of the book Reversed: A Memoir and literacy problem solver. Reading from the book Shel Silverstein's Falling Up. This bad cold. This cold is too much for my shirt sleeve. Get me a Kleenex and fast. I snivel and wheeze and I'm ready to sneeze and I don't know how long I can last. Achoo! It's too wet for the Kleenex, so bring me a handkerchief quick. It's achoo, no joke. Now the handkerchief's soaked. Hey, a dish towel. Just might do the trick. Achoo! It's too much for the bath towel. There never has been such a cold. I'd be better off with a big tablecloth. No, bring me the flag off the pole. Achoo! Bring the clothes from the closet. Achoo! Get the sheets off the bed, the drapes off the window, the rugs off the floor to soak up this cold in my head. Achoo! Hurry down to the circus. And ask if they'll lend you the tent. You say they said yes? Here it comes. Lord be blessed. Here it is. Ah-ka-choo! There it went. What a time to read this in a time of COVID Thank you. Enjoy. Hit like and hit subscribe.