Smoking Can be Good for You

Even in a dim-lit lounge, and after straight-up
Scotches, three, I knew she was too good
For me, so I contrived to keep my distance,
Sitting at my table to the side, while she
Was at the bar, and, though there were
No others, but the bar maid, in the place
With us, I kept my silence, thinking that
A woman of such elegance had had to
Face, throughout her life, an endless
Stream of horny rubes attempting to
Impress her with their witty lines and
Charming ways. I chose not to be the
Next, and, staring at my empty glass,
And wishing I was more, I told myself
I’d saved us both from awkwardness,
Sustaining what, for she and I, had been
Two separate pleasant nights. At last,
I went out front to have a smoke. I sat
Upon the concrete bar before the closest
Parking space, and looked at nothing,
Thought of nothing. Soon, the lounge's
Door was opened. She came out. She
Lit her cigarette, and sat down next
To me. She noted it was cool that night,
And I agreed, a pleasant change from
Weeks of savage, humid heat, and, slowly,
We began to talk, unwinding, inexplicably,
The stories of our ordinary lives. The
Parallels were few. She'd come there
From a city on the coast. I'd been there
All my life. Her marriage was in ruins,
So was mine. She had nowhere to go.
In time, I put my arm around her
Shoulders. She moved closer. We went
Back inside, and drank some more. I
Joined her at the bar, and, when it got
To two, we said goodbye. There wasn't
Any point, I thought, to making plans
To meet again, and, thus, we didn't. Even
So, we found each other at the bar, and,
Two divorces later, we moved in together.
That is why, my friend, though it is early,
I am going home. I'm still afraid that she's
Too good for me, but I have done my best
To make her think I'm not, and, so far,
She has done her best to reassure me,
Saying that I am the only thing that stands
Between her and the void.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 40 times
Written on 2010-08-06 at 03:51

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