Between the Notes

I faced a urinary tract infection,
A monster with a horrid overbite
(How in that case had it escaped detection?)
That sapped me of all possible delight
In this or any other world: a dark
Noisome despair filled me with shame,
Sustained by piercing glances, cool and stark,
My father's forlorn hopes, my mother's blame.
It has been ever thus, since petticoats
Impeded ladies playing on their spinets,
Suppressing hearty moans between the notes.
What will you do to face the awful minutes?
I have no answers. I have just one thought:
Smile when you spy an unredeemed red spot.