Midnight

How should you smoke a cigar? A good cigar?

I look at the tiger-lilies and think,

O God, how beautiful thou art

But I don’t know what beauty is because

the wind is cool, The cigar is good

And the best vodka in the world is in my hand, O God

Cigar in one hand, drunk in the other

Semis on 169, tree wind, AC fan kicks in.

The traffic a beautiful cacophony, the tree wind

A cool melody, like waves

The tree wind in waves like poetry from the west

Cool, dry wind in the trees

Alone with cigar, hooked on cigar

Peg doesn’t mind if I smoke on the patio

I don’t mind if I do, you have to know

how to smoke a cigar, it really takes practice

Especially when writing on the back of an envelope

One tends not to inhale the cool air

A cat screams, the bells ring, Something

has died, the wind, cool,

perfect, the train whistle,

perfect, the traffic on 169

The wind in the trees, cool. midnight