"Misophonia"

[gunwithoutmusic]

Is it bad that I
Don’t want you smoking,
Not because I
Worry about your health
(Because how hypocritical
Would that be of me,
Smoking beside you and
Worrying about your lungs),
But because you feel
The need to spit
After every drag?

The “pbbbt... plop”
Of saliva leaving your mouth
And landing on the porch
Every few seconds
Sends me shivers
And takes over my thoughts,
Like nails on a chalkboard
Or open-mouthed chewing,
Like the smacking of gum
Or the sucking of hard candy,
Like the sound of a fork
As its tines drag across teeth.

Comments

[murielle]

That's a new one to me! We all have our rituals around smoking. I had quite a little routine back in the (smoking) day, but I've never heard of anyone needing to spit after every drag. This person just isn't enjoying the experience very much, unless it's all about the spitting. ;-)

Won't be commenting till Sunday evening, but I'll still be cheering you on, just silently for a couple of days. <3

[gunwithoutmusic]

He spits because he doesn't like the taste of it in his mouth - I think he only likes smoking because he can come outside with me! I really need to quit again soon, anyway; that's one way to take control and stop the irritation! :D

[alycewilson]

Yuck! But seriously, this poem is good. Great details, exactly long enough.

[gunwithoutmusic]

Thank you! I have a friend that knows exactly what I'm talking about when I say how basically excruciating it is dealing with those sorts of sounds that a lot of people are able to tune out, so I was trying to kind of get that same feeling across a little bit for those that don't know what it's like. :)

[adoptedwriter]

Certain sounds are real triggers, aren't they?

[gunwithoutmusic]

Oh, it's the worst! Some sounds that bother other people don't effect me at all, but some sounds just like, laser focus my brain so it's all I can think about and it drives me crazy!

[swirlsofpurple]

The feel this evokes is so visceral and real, brilliant

[gunwithoutmusic]

Thank you so much! :)

[halfshellvenus]

Bleah! And by that, I mean the 'tic,' not the poem.

That would be a truly annoying habit, but kind of gross. And if he doesn't like the taste, why smoke at all? Maybe leave a bottle of bubbles out there, and he can blow bubbles while you smoke until you manage to quit again.

Boy, none of these are my "cringe" sounds. Mine actually hurt my ears-- squeaking styrofoam, squeaking markers on white-boards (which sound almost identical), and forks scraping across plates. They all 'shriek' in a truly painful way. :O

[gunwithoutmusic]

Ugh, our plates are the worst for the fork-dragging sounds! I try my hardest not to make that sound when I'm eating but it's like the plates were designed for maximum annoying sound amplification. I actually have pretty much stopped using those plates and switched over to melamine and paper plates just to avoid it!

[halfshellvenus]

I have to admit, our usual plates are Pfaltzgraf (heavy, glazed pottery), and they probably really ARE "scrapier" than certain other choices might be. Melanine and even our few Corelle plates don't make quite as much noise!

Our daughter was the Queen of fork-scraping. Give her anything with frosting on it, and she would work that fork back and forth through it (and right up my spine, aurally speaking). :O