Where did all the smoke go?
Was it blown
away into history,
As a passing
yellow cloud?
Once it was
everywhere,
It seeped
into everything
Infusing
clothes, skins, rooms and breaths.
People
smoked cigarettes, roll-ups,
Pipes and
cigars
At home, in
the street,
In buses,
trains and cars
So many
would all inhale and exhale
Now only a
few last hold-outs
Light up
their coffin nails.
I had a
youthful ambition for smoke,
It looked so
cool
It might
make a young fool
Into a
proper bloke.
All the
tempting images
And brands
and advertising mirages
Reinforced
my bad choice
So, I
enjoyed
Number Six
and Number Ten
Then as
nicotine inserted
Its hooks
and chains
I inhaled
and exhaled
Again and
again
Bensons,
Marlboro, Gauloises, Gitanes.
When the
craving really needed slaking
I was
capable of taking
Dog ends
from ashtrays
To disinter
smoked tobacco
Just to resmoke
it and cough.
Too late I
decided to cast smoke off
Now I am
free
I think
smugly
As I strap
on tight
The
breathing mask
That I need
to sleep every night.
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