There is a dancing light,
no more than a streetlamp two
hundred yards away, its fine
filament shattered by heaviness
of wet air, which jackets
seeing like a concept laid
upon the purity of fact.
I sit at the typewriter,
cigarette between my lips,
staring at smoke, then at words,
not knowing the difference.
Of course I do know if I ask,
“What do I believe?” Funny,
no one else seems to know.
I mean, we say we do,
but that is only by decision.
We jump to conclusions,
jump as high as light
is long and fast, but without
arrival. Things simply stop.
There is nothing quite as real
as smoke. It smells and has
a taste. It comes between
us and what we know. Smoke
is very welcome. Like light,
born of fire, it stings
and makes us close our eyes.