Thirteen Views of the Cigarette

By manunkind

1.

two graceful fingers

expertly cradle

the cigarette;

manicured, red nails

flash through the haze

2.

curdled smoke pours from its

vile like haunted milk

3.

the girl watches as

her heartbroken mother

shakily sucks the smoke into

her lungs

4.

wispy, mellow ecstasy flows and pours

soothing the mind,

casting a pallor

over the severity of life

5.

the mist hung about the town

like cigarette smoke

clinging to a smoker's deathbed

6.

the package that he offers you is

larger than a cigarette pack

but smaller than a breadbox,

it is clearly not the diamond ring you

are hopping for.

7.

a grungy black boot stomps

in a volatile manner,

extinguishing a

lingering glow

8.

angry fingers snatch

from between my lips,

this eternal craving.

a disappointed question

flickers in the eye of

my best friend.

9.

i am ashamed

of my poison

infused innards,

though i deny it.

cancerous and rotting

between your lips, i seep

into your lungs and may

never be ejected.

10.

hacking, coughing

and glaring

as they pass,

"those smokers!

uneducated fools,

how dare they!"

11.

black ringed eyes gaze

skywards

as smoke creeps out of bruised lips

and slithers towards

the stars

12.

a handsome youth

clutches a billiard queue

in four fingers, and his cigarette

with the fifth

he looks up, sees me watching,

and winks.

13.

a cigarette is to death

as a cradle is to life

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
Copyright 2005 voix de femme
Published on Thursday, September 22, 2005.     Filed under: "Poetry"
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Comments on "Thirteen Views of the Cigarette"

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  • A former member wrote: "the mist hung about the town like cigarette smoke" Stunning line/allusion; perfect for the poem. "vile like haunted milk" A fantastic metaphor. (I think you meant hoping, not hopping in #6? Unless it's something a little more clever than I saw;i suppose

  • A former member wrote: ...it could work). "cancerous and rotting" Perfect! I liked the format a lot. Gibson wrote something called: "Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City", similar style but fictional prose, not poetry, & definately a different tale. I would've liked to have seen

  • A former member wrote: ...seven more views: the full pack, if you will, but I felt this poem on many levels; it cut deep into my own used lungs: Verse 3 was powerful. The Views are black, white & bruised eternal. It's a marvelous piece; well done!

  • Dei On Tuesday, June 27, 2006, Dei (665)By person wrote:

    god i loved this. . . its flowed so well. and those last lines really captured the whole of it so well.

  • Solace On Tuesday, February 21, 2006, Solace (1069)By person wrote:

    Never do you cease to amaze me with your delicate words so poignantly phrased...a tightly projected piece that augments its theme with brilliant eloquence and forethought...

  • Alanarchy On Monday, February 20, 2006, Alanarchy (1200)By person wrote:

    Left me bedazzled and ever glad I quit. Thanks for this.

  • A former member wrote: love it!!!oh fuck i love it!

  • A former member wrote: ali... i fucking love this, this is amazing. coincidence you lebelled it number twelve? i think not! haha. but seriously, this is incredible. im favoritizing it. youre an amazing writer.

  • Sin On Friday, September 23, 2005, Sin (1168)By person wrote:

    i am never disappointed when i read one of your writes, they are always refreshing and unique, #7 was my favorite ~kristy

  • Possesion On Friday, September 23, 2005, Possesion (137)By person wrote:

    this was....great.

  • MESUN On Friday, September 23, 2005, MESUN (230)By person wrote:

    excellent. simply excellent.

  • Drea On Thursday, September 22, 2005, Drea (1443)By person wrote:

    June sent me the link to read this, and I'm so glad she did. This was wonderful. This was written so well.

  • A former member wrote: ..marvelous.

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