Smoking Stories

The skunky but delicious smoke fills this little corner of campus, exiting my lungs only once it's done its job. I feel the calming weight fall over my anxious brain almost immediately and glance down at the tiny joint in my hands, surprised by its secret potency.  "Miss Xanderson!" I grab one more big hit before stomping the lovely little thing beneath the heel of my combat boot and turning to face our principal, inwardl...

The scanner beeped as I ran it over the red box of cigarettes. I looked up at a boy with thin whiskers. "Can I see ID? You look kinda young-ish," I said with a smile. He fumbled with his wallet for a moment and I awkwardly looked at the young man. The driver's license snapped down on the counter and I scanned it for a birth date, not the expiration date, there it was. Eleven, thirty, nineteen-ninety-four. Is he old enough...

Today I walked out of Walmart. I had in hand some coverlets for my bed that were on sale. Also, my prescription for a tooth gel my dentist wants me to use. I have been using it for a year and it seems to be working to keep my teeth in shape. I don't want to wear false teeth as the previous generation often did. I see my dentist every six months and I will do so forever. I had parked around the end of the building, so I wo...

Sure, I'll just walk behind you, breathe in the smoke blowing my way, that's bad for you, ya know, and even worse for your asthma, but you don't really care, do you? Why did you pick up that habit?  Why did you start smoking? And I don't mean just the cigarette kind.  Did it seem cool to you? Was it interesting to you? Were you curious and just got stuck?  Yeah, so I have questions, and I don't approve of this behavior, b...

Another problem to be seen, Coiling up tightly. It turns into a cigar. Grab a lighter, or a match. Light up the cigar. Burn it down with each breath. Just watch it burn, Glowing red, Glowing bright at each inhale. Pull in the smoke, And exhale again. Let go of the smoke, The problem. Release it all. Burn the problem away. Just burn it and throw away the feelings. The pieces that cannot be fixed.