Hacking

Yesterday, I coughed up a brooch
the colour of mouthwash.
It went under the hammer,
fetching the price of an opera ticket.

The bidder keeps it on felt.
Sometimes she lays all her jewellery
out on her bed, gets under the covers
and feels their dead weights
like cat's feet stepping on her duvet.

This morning I only coughed up phlegm
and knowing it to be worth nothing
I stored it in tissue paper
where it glows like gold.