Hmm, this had a definite impact on me. I like the idea you're exploring here.

Second last line "for many years they associated his the cough"
... I think there's a bit of a grammar mistake there.

Other than that, great work.
Keep it up.

*Bella*

I thought the repetition of the idea of an absent person with the lines ending with “was not there” were really effective and sort of haunting. I would have liked to have seen that used through to the end of the poem—- I think it could have made for a really strong conclusion. Keep writing!