Ode To A Smoker Poem by Ted Middleton

For forty years and even more
He'd lit up every day
He always said he'd give them up
He did - near every day!
To young men starting out in life
His mates all know their 'stuff'
Oh sure the 'oldies' warned him
But smoking made him 'tough'
'What else is there to do' he asked
'I've got to join 'the set'
I'm running with the 'in crowd
So I smoke a cigarette'
Well forty years, he paid the price
With pain and much regret
He paid the final payment
With his life he paid that debt
No moral to this story
But smoking's just this, brother
A naked flame on one end
And a sucker on the other