::07:31:08::

::: 13 ways of looking at a cigarette :::

I
When the cigarette burned low,
The black came in again.
That was all.

II
If you smoke
Cigarettes, you’ll die.
Society’s first deadly
Sin. it’s second? war?

III
There is nothing to shade
The workers from midday heat
As they gather tobacco leaves.
They have no money with which
They might purchase cigarettes.

IV
The woman and her art
Are one.
The woman and her art and a cigarette
Are one.

V
she knows which to prefer,
The silence of the cigarette break
To the slow walk back to work.

VI
Modern romance is a cigarette butt
Wading at the seabed of a toilet bowl
Modern romance is a beggar’s slow
Guitar sound, and his hollow upturned hat.
A cruel necessity, a shadowed hope,
This modern romance is.

VII
There are many potential battles,
Of which one is cigarettes.
I realize, I must choose some,
Let others be allies of fight.

VIII
On a frigid February morning,
I suck a cigarette and
Watch the plowman
Clear a sidewalk in slow
Moving vehicle. 1 mile per hour.
My first thought: thank you.
Second thought: poor guy.

IX
What came first?
The cigarette or the conversation.
Nice to meet you.

X
At the sight of cigarettes
Pressed between Marilyn’s lips,
Even the greatest adversary
Would gasp out quickly.

XII
A harsh wind must be blowing.
The flame resists the cigarette.

XI
He rode over New Orleans
In a paper plane.
Once, a fear crossed him,
In that he mistook
A cry for help
For cigarette smoke.

XIII
At twilight,
A light snow falls
From the heavens,
The cosmos, earthly sphere, or…
Cigarette smoke snakes up to
Whichever you prefer.

Written by: ~ Becca Fishow