My head is heavy and I ache with each inhalation,
Of poisoned air. Smoke sits heavily on my chest,
And I sigh at the notion of conversation.

You rest your head in your hands and lean away,
Transfixed. By something only you can see,
As the air around us turns a lilac shade of blue.

I blink away cold, nicotine tears, my throat dry,
I cannot face you. I am devoid of any sensation,
Other than pain, as I claw at my own skin.

Like a fish to the bait I rise

Its hard to believe this is your first poem, if this is, then you have a natural talent.

Believe in yourself and see where it leads you

J

P.S. on the other hand you could just ask them to stop smoking

John's right; this is really good.

Welcome among us, by the way! I'm so happy you have come to be among us here.

Do be encouraged, and write some more poems and share them with us. Thanks very much for posting this one.

I think you're off to a fine strong start!

I am in unbreakable solidarity with you, my fellow poet, always.

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA

I was getting ready to leave when I decided to check in and see if anyone had replied to my work. I'm under "Windowmaker". I came across yours when browsing the list and opened it up. I have to say that if the above is indeed your first poem then you have natural talent that has been refined by virtue of you continuing to breathe. Your poem was brilliantly written with great imagery. It's just a great poem worthy of being inked somewhere. Please continue to be a part of our forum and contribute often. I appreciate you sharing this one with us. Write some more!

Your poetic friend,

Kevin
"Windowmaker"

Thank you Kevin, -J- and +Steven Curtis Lance.

To -J-, I must say I did not intend it to be on smoking, it just happened that people see it that way, probably my choice of language, but nicotine is such a beautifully sounding word, don't you agree? Thank you once again.

To +Steven Curtis Lance, thank you for welcoming me upon your site, I enjoy reading it, frequently but to post is something of a challenge. May I enquire to the meaning of 'AD ASTRA PER ASPERA'?

To Kevin, I would write more if I could, but I am somewhat of a perfectionist, this piece took me days of re-arranging. Of course I have written the odd poem before but none that I liked. With this I thought, hey, I shall write something to be proud of. Again, thank you.

My dear K!

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA means "To the stars through difficulty," and has special resonace with me in connection to the pursuit of perfection in the art of poetry; it also happens to be the motto of the state of Kansas.

Solidarity forever, and:

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA