a wisp of smoke curls up--heavenward
until it disintegrates into nothingness
a burnt tip-- alighted by an orange flame
that flickers quick from a cheap Bic lighter
the cigarette dangles tantalizingly
between *******-- index and middle
it's a balancing act--
to stay away from the ashes
and to not drop your sustenance
dark red lips slightly parted
nearly purple, but not quite
as if a speeding car halted at an invisible border
the arbitrary line between purple and red
she exhales
the smoke coming out in elongated ohs
once the smoke clears
she is gone
after all,
she was
a hazed out,
high-defying,
hallucinatory,
dream
i tried to capture the typical woman from a hard-boiled detective fiction/noir film, in someone's dream. think broadway's city of angels, for an example.
