PASSION

The writing seminar broke for ten minutes.

I went outside the ivory tower to feed

my smoking demon in the shade of an awning.  

I carefully packed the bowl of my pipe,

looked to see the tobacco was level and smooth, 

fired up, took a deep drag, and 

blew a thick stream into the air.

Students ambled one by one or two by two

toward summer classes, and an early release

from boring lecturess and stifled thoughts. 

One motored by in a wheelchair, and

a professor, dressed like a clown

without even meaning to, sped past on an 

electric scooter, frizzy red hair like

a basketball bouncing on his shoulders.

 

I drifted with my smoke...

A sharp whistle from above my line of sight

brought me back, a flash of crimson Cardinal

perched four feet away to investigate

a slip of paper discarded on the walk.

He turned one black eye sideways to the ground,

then the other, hopped a quarter turn to face me…

Skeee!

Flipped his wings and went home.

The unsated demon in my lungs, sighed

when I rose too early so I could print 

this picture and nail it to a wall

inside my head. 

I wonder if it is just me, or did

Hironimus Bosch also work this way?

Reviews

[andrew mitchell]

Enjoying the aromas of tobacco does take one miles away on a wisp of smoke momentarily only to be broken by the sounds of today. It’s too bad it’s bad for you, being an ex smoker myself.

[Vol]

I quit eleven years ago and miss it today.
I often wonder, "What am i living for, If I must deny my favorite vices?"
Vol

[andrew mitchell]

I quit 14 yrs ago and I don’t miss the addiction nicotine has upon you. Nice to be in control again.

[Vol]

It is nice to not stink... According to Surgeon General Coop, who was the first to make a serious attempt to explain the hazards of smoking, a pipe is actually good for you. Those who inhale have no appreciable reduction in life span. Those who do not inhale have a slightly extended lifespan (Not a quote, it has been too long, but an accurate paraphrase... I just went to look up the report I read all those years ago and can't find it... as I am sure that bit is much too politically incorrect. I am constantly tempted by all those beautiful hand-carved pipes I collected over the years.
Vol

Vol