Eternal Flame

Cherry

By luigi_pagano

Sat, 02 Sep 2017
  • 1795 reads
8 comments
 
I’ve still got it after six decades;
you can say I am attached to it
and yet I don’t use it anymore.
I recall the fateful moment
when it became redundant.
Soon it’ll be just an ornament
and become part of folklore.
I derived from it great pleasure
while relishing my sinful act.
It was for me a little treasure,
so tactile, sturdy and compact.
Only took a delicate touch
for it to spark into life,
that or the flick of the wrist.
Even Nancy took a fancy to it;
she said she liked it so much
that it was very hard to resist.
 
It’s not a fact I like to divulge
but both of us were addicted
and together we’d often indulge
until the day we saw sense.
I don’t know who first spoke
but the conversation was tense
as it was on the topic of smoke.
Twenty a day? You don’t say,
even Silk Cut  cost an awful lot.
A price we were unwilling to pay.
And to show we weren’t joking
we made a decision on the spot:
right away we would quit smoking.
Now there’s just a Zippo lighter
to remind me of my peccadillo.
 
The blighter!
 
© Luigi Pagano 2017 
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Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Can be surprising to look back on assumptions and habits of long ago. Not all could make the break so easily. Interestingly, I suppose often it's a realisation of the money going 'up in smoke' more than the effects of smoke that provoked the decision. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

You got it in one, Rhiannon. The financial consideration weighed heavily in the decision. I made a clean break without the help of any patches; after my last cigarette I resisted the temptation to buy another pack.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

It's funny isn't it - fancy lighters used to be a real 'thing' - something you gave someone as a leaving present from work for instance, or something you displayed on a coffee table

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

How attitudes change, insert. It used to be a badge of honour to us inveterate smokers and if it was a Dunhill it would have been the height of sophistication.

Thanks for the lovely cherries.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

Loved the cheekiness of this.  When I was clearing out my late mother's flat I found several 'coffee table' lighters and engraved ones that had belonged to her and my dad, unused for years and stashed away in a cupboard.  Fancy 'coffee table' ashtrays too.  Very 1950s and 1960s, and although I don't smoke and always nagged them about the habit, very nostalgic.  

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Thanks for your perceptive observation (re. cheekiness), Jane.
I know all about nagging as I received plenty of it by my daughters and even from ex-smokers relatives.
I possessed no ends of lighters from the Zippo to refillable and disposable ones. Much more sensible than fumbling trying to light matches especiaaly in windy days. I still find the odd empty ones in drawers.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Brilliant metaphor, made me smile :0)

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Many thanks for your feedback, Di. I had hoped that this piece of mine would resonate with someone and the fact that it made you smile pleases me enormously.

Best, Luigi.