Cigaretta

Sshhhhhttt – I strike a match
Screw a cigarette between my lips
Three quick puffs gets it glowing
I then sharply inhale its wonder
Standing against the brick wall
modelling jeans and a white T-shirt
Sun glassed I look mean and moody
I am posing James Deanesque
Cooler than cool
Cooler than school
Seductively I take another long draw
I burn it to the end of the filter tip
It burns even in my throat, a little
But I am too cool to cough
And choke that cough back down inside
There’s a secret I know
One I would never admit
Cigarettes are actually good for you
Stuff that is good for you
Cannot by that definition
Ever, ever be considered cool
I keep that fact to myself.

Sshhhhhttt – He strikes a match
Having taken a cigarette from
The wooden box on his desk
He lights, puffs and inhales
I am with my mother
In the doctors office
He offers her a cigarette from
His nicotine stained Pandora’s box
“Have you ever considered taking
 up smoking Mrs Macleod?”
“It would help relax your nervousness.
 it would help with your condition”
My mother was a paranoid schizophrenic
In 1972 cigarettes were recommended
By a doctor (viewed by me as cool)
I smoke in order to be cool
I smoke so that I don’t become
A paranoid schizophrenic