My First Cig Puff

An attempt to describe the first experience of almost every smoker. PS: This is in support of anti-smoking. 'Cigarette Smoking Is Injurious To Health'

Holding that slender stick in between two fingers

Stance of an emperor of a classy empire

The curvy wavy smoke in air lingers

One cig in hand smartens your attire

 

I remember my first cig puff,

How I held its butt between my lips

An air of curiosity traveled down my core

As a friend lighted for me its tip

 

The lit cigarette brightened my ecstasy

And with pride I took my first puff

Smoke dint seem finding space inside

And I burst out, it made me cough

 

That challenged me to attempt once again

This time I felt my smoke-filled chest

I was gagged, hooked for a moment

It was kind of a head rush… at its best!

 

That whiff of smoke changed everything

Nothing seemed at its best without one puff

Did it taste that good? Hell No!

Then why doesn't puff after puff seem enough?

 

Soon my hands, mouth, clothes smelled the same

Seasons didn't matter, time did no harm

Every time I rushed to a clandestine zone

The moment I received ‘quench the flame’ alarm!

 

I am not bad, don’t hate me

It’s a compelling force, I can’t shun away

This addiction should only not invite my grave

Be my honest well-wisher, for me pray!

 

Reviews

[beyondpen]

Its almost satirical the way you've portrayed the mental state of a smoker- one instant king like, another instant pitiable... the bloated pride of someone who has just taken in his first puff, bent the very next moment when asking for well-wishers to pray for him...

[Neha Godambe]

Well-observed! I have seen smokers' pride meet dust...

[Nayan]

The sense of false pride, the company of smoking friends, the feeling of having a cure for anxiety, and what not! - You have beautifully incorporated the reasons why one gives in to it!

"Stance of an emperor of a classy empire"
"One cig in hand smartens your attire"
"As a friend lighted for me its tip"
"It was kind of a head rush… at its best!"

And the compulsions of continuing the habit are also very nicely told:

"That whiff of smoke changed everything
Nothing seemed at its best without one puff
...
Then why doesn't puff after puff seem enough?"

Really never thought there can be such a good "stop smoking" poem! You end it beautifully, with what goes in the smoker's mind. If you ask them, "Stop smoking", they shout back at you saying "We are adults, we know what is good and bad! (for us)".

"It’s a compelling force, I can’t shun away
This addiction should only not invite my grave
Be my honest well-wisher, for me pray!"

[Neha Godambe]

I did not try smoking really. But I thank my friends who do this and let me observe :) Thanks for your inspiring comment Nayan :)

[Nayan]

A poet or a writer, in that sense, need not experience things to write about them. He/She is an intelligent observer who never misses the tiniest noticeable things that happen around, be those be events, or be they be people and their lives around. This world around gives rise to imagination of a world, of which he/she writes!

[Neha Godambe]

True :)

[Neha Godambe]

Thank you Zoya :)

[Zoya Sahai]

Its a very different poem. I love the royal feeling that you've created with your first stanza. And it has the right message of course.