surgeon general notwithstanding

although i never smoked, i used to enjoy kissing
the mouths of men who did. i liked the
taste of their lips, the tobacco-ey sultriness
of the saliva on their tongues.
their mouths tasted sexy and sensuous.
yes, i enjoyed kissing the mouths of
men who were smokers. cigarettes,
to be specific. i don't think i
ever kissed men who smoked
pipes or cigars. it seems i'd
remember a taste like that if
i'd kissed any of them. but
i do remember the taste of the
mouths of men who smoked cigarettes.
and i liked it.
and one of my favorite wetdreams
was mr.marlboro man, where has
he gone? after all these years,
and what has he got to show for
himself? i hope he's happy,
all leather and horse and smoke.

--Carl Miller Daniels (This poem appeared in Issue #32 of 5AM, 2010.)