Smoke Break Poem by R.Benjamin Abate

I step outside
For a smoke-
Whiskey lingers
On my lips

As the wind
Attempts
To drag me
Back to better
Days-

Before I crossed over
The edge-

I take a drag
& watch
The chipmunk flee

The ducks float around
On a nearby pond-
laughing at my struggle-

'Quack - Quack'

I take a long drag
Of my cigarette-
Exhale-

Then I run my hair
Along the spruce tree-
The Oracle-

Take another drag-
& I send smoke signals

As a neighbor
Squeezes out a constipated-

'HELLO.'

& Each time
He says hello
It's like my jeans are
Hitting the spot I cut
While shaving my scrotum-

Rupturing the wound-

I force a smile-
Wave to him

Take one more drag-
Then I put my
Cigarette out

& Retreat
To my so called
Home
Before
the whiskey
Comes back up on me