used to smoke.
my mother smoked,
my father,
my grandmother always
had a pack
of Virginia Slims
next to her
cup of Earl Grey tea
short cake.
ashtrays were in every home.
doctors smoked,
construction workers.
men,
women.
office workers.
cigarettes were free
in the military.
men about to be executed
by the firing squad
wanted one
last puff
before the bullets hit
their heart.
people smoked after sex,
after dinner,
in night clubs,
at bars.
it was cool, hip, slick
and sophisticated
to puff on a cigarette.
rich or poor.
everyone was a movie star
with a Camel
clutched between their lips
with a ribbon of smoke
in their eyes.
it didn't matter
what the research said,
or what was
printed on the side of
the package.
just one more puff,
one more.
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