Cigarettes

There's something about
The way he holds a
Cigarette -

Confident; pensive;
A natural veteran -
He wields cancer-sticks
Like bullets
Shoots himself in the lungs
Over and over again.

He uses them to ward off
Anxiety, and time.
But time is patient -
It sits idly by
Until it's ready to
Remind him:
Don't you dare try
To escape me - 
You can't.

But I don't think that he's
Trying to cheat time
With one cigarette, two cigarettes, or nine -
Rather, I think he's
Waiting for
Something or
Someone
To give him a reason
To stub it out.