My Mother’s Vice

 

she won’t say much except she liked tobacco

its calming effect on her nerves

maybe she once imagined herself

Katherine Hepburn, cigarette in hand

accoutrement for deflection

 

parochial school carpool queen, cigarette hangs

from her lips, one arm expertly steers

the other swats noisy uniformed kids

crammed in a container of school sweat

cured by suburban menthol

 

when we were old enough to talk back

we shamed her habit, badgered this

choice need desire to smoke

a felon then surfaced, hiding her vice

stomped out evidence

 

patio of solace, snuffing a dying butt, she falls

a dislocated hip forces intervention

 

a thirty year nonsmoker, she still tastes

pleasure, rush of nicotine washing

her brain, softening daily discomfort, details

(reminds me of my own numbing vices)

––pride punishes another generation

 

June 26, 2021