With a swift strike,

The sound of the match riddles through the air louder than thunder.

She brings it up to her king sized, mint cigarette.

The flame’s mirrored reflection glows in her grey eyes.

The tobacco crinkles like paper when it meets the matches end.

The cherry smolders like a star.

Her eye lashes flutter as she guides the dense smoke down her torn throat;

The sweet burn caressing its way down her body

As she holds it deep in her lungs.

Her hand trembles as the rush of nicotine gallops to her head.

After a subtle breath, she guides her eyes to me and says,

“Nothing lasts forever.

A fleeting moment can provide unimaginable bliss.

Live in the now,

Swallow all your goals of satisfaction down with a shot of gin.

Smoke me down to the filter,

And hold me in.”  

Robert Lyons has been published in "(A Brilliant) Record Magazine," "Feelings of the Heart," and "The Sheltered Poet."

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