Smoke

A pastime which occupies my full attention 
Begins with a delicate flick.
The sweet smell of sulfur is followed
By an orange glow from the kindled tip
Bursting briefly into a big white billow
That dwindles into a slender wisp
As I settle down to hazy remembrance
And evanescing oblivion.

                                             Photo: Leipnizkeks. Wikimedia Commons.

Two fingers and a thumb effortlessly balance
A smooth, stout, oily instrument
While my pursed, pensive lips blow clouds
Toward the ceiling, sending my fatigue far away
Or forming my amorphous artwork into meditations
To share with others.
The phone is ringing, she tells me once, then twice
But I cannot answer it right now.
I'm smoking a cigar.

Thankless Job

I got a thankless job, a thankless job.
They don't pay me enough to get killed
On these mean streets after dark
While drug deals go down in the park
And in front of every "convenience store."
What's it convenient for? I think we all know.
If I fall then I'm a "hero." Well, to me that means zero!
They'll put my name on some plaque or memorial wall.
Consolation's pretty small: a permanent vacation.
But if things happen the other way and I survive
Some hulking psychopath 
Who makes me the target of his wrath.
How the hell do I know why he's reaching into his pocket?
The media puts out some photograph of the deceased
Smiling and all innocent-looking; just the perfect picture of Mama's Boy!
Forget his mug shot. 
I have a mama, too, and a wife and kids who
Pray every day that I put on that badge and strap on that gun.
I'm not going out there to have fun!
In the end, my friend, the only thing that separates a villain from a martyr
Is who lives and who dies.

The Wages of SIn

It's refreshing to see
The last vestiges of legalized vice
From pot-bellied men and apathetic widows
Planted in front of the penny slot machines at the casino
Oozing cigarette smoke like drugged dragons.
Not because they're slowly killing themselves
But that in some secluded places
They're still allowed.

Photo: Vaikunda Raja.