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| Stainforth Cigarettes prompt provided by The Mag 149 |
Puff
Puff puff your cigarette
Smoke yourself
to death.
While remembering
the Marlboro man
alive.
Hold the Virginia Slim
Just so poised
to show off your fingernails.
Copy Marlene Dietrich
All the villains
And heroes in black and white
Fill the bar and your lungs
in cloaking blue haze
of smoke.
Ignore
The ashes and stale smell
your shortness of breath.
Puff puff your cigarette
Smoke yourself
to death.
J. Binford-Bell
December 2012
Note: I smoked. My father smoked. My sister smokes. When I was in college I went to the infirmary after my third case of bronchitis for the year. The doctor explained I had a choice - breathe or smoke. Breathing sound preferable. I worked for a construction company that was building tobacco plants in North Carolina. My not smoking did not go over very well especially when I filled the ashtray with M&M's as a subtle hint for the tobacco company execs to not smoke in my office. Obviously too subtle because it did not work. Hell of a waste of M&M's.
I think I hate most the cleaning of ash trays. Hated it even when I smoked. So this was a difficult prompt for me.
For a difficult prompt you have done this so very well. I love all the villains in black and white. Most of us have been where you have and those who haven't will not understand - ever.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're here and healthy. You write with real passion here.
ReplyDeleteI live in NC and there are so many dilapidated tobacco barns dotting the landscape. So many people were hurt when it went belly up... but it IS hard to feel too sorry for them as smoking is such a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in NC and worked on building the new Tobaccoville plant I loved the barns. So very picturesque. But why has the industry gone belly up? I think more people smoke now than did before. And RJ Reynolds ships to China. One of our more successful exports.
DeleteThis is my favorite part:
ReplyDelete"Fill the bar and your lungs
in cloaking blue haze"
amen amen- those of us who smoked most likely quit or are dead. I wrote about the same topic- smoking kills. Excellent post my friend!
ReplyDeleteSome fine comments on smoking...
ReplyDeleteWell done you! Life puff is best. :)
ReplyDeleteBreathing is always preferable....a powerful write Jacqui! :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Marlboro Man was so handsome, strong and healthy.
ReplyDeleteHave a happy new year!
There have been three I understand and I also believe all three have died of smoke related illnesses.
Deletei kissed and hugged away several lovely good people in my life who willingly acknowledged that their flight from this plane was entirely fueled by cigarettes. damn! so i see as a former smoker myself. the love in asking gently but firmly for people to please stop smoking . . . . . steven
ReplyDeleteOne of the more heinous ways we have been hoodwinked by advertising and peer pressure. It's not easy to watch anymore. I managed to poison myself for somewhere in the neighborhood of 37 years before it dawned on me that piecemeal suicide was not only stupid but really stupid. Sometimes our actions defy logic. Good piece. Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteSo happy you were able to quit. My sister has several times but continues to go back to it. And she is a nurse.
DeleteQuit cold turkey after more years than I care to admit to.Forty plus I one counts early teens. Many people in the medical profession smoke. I was once allowed into theatre in a private hospital and the surgeons` rest room next door reeked of tobacco. It`s said it`s the stress. One of the things that caught my attention was that it is frequently the heart surgeons who are the smokers even though they see what nicotine does to the insides. And the theatre staff smoke.
ReplyDelete