Marlboro Reds glow in my mind
like flaming rum-soaked raisins;
Bali Shag is heavy, spiced,
mysterious and Asian;
the Camel is a desert smoke,
as crisp and dry as parchment scrolls;
and Pall Malls taste like sandpaper,
abrasive to the heart and soul.
Drum is musty, mulchy, earthen,
a fungus sprouting in the mouth;
Spirits have a caramel sweetness
I thought I could not live without;
Newports greenly colden, shooting
crystals through the stiff’ning veins;
Parliaments have little dips
some people use to snort cocaine;
a Crush was given to me once
by a slender pretty girl—
I gladly sat beside her while
the smoke, and her long legs, unfurled.
Lucky Strikes are what, I’m told,
our boys in Vietnam preferred
(although, in my experience,
they mostly taste like dirt);
Nat Shermans, elegant and brown,
taste less smooth than they appear;
but when I searched for Chesterfields,
I could not find them anywhere.