Nervous Cough

[rowens]

I think the ending is making a general statement about humanity. While the speaker ends with the resolve to keep coughing neurotically rather than give in to the delusions that would comfort him, the last two lines admit that humanity is based on delusion and fantasy. That's why I prefer the word 'fit' rather than 'fight' as others suggested to me, the angels are a fit, an outburst of desperation. And even if the speaker broke down and embraced faith, like you said, it would contradict itself.