Half-Smoked Cigarette

The hipster said  
“I’d like to light you again sometime
Like a pack of Marlborough cigarettes.”
Then he threw his cigarette to the ground,
And left her the same way he found her--
Lost to the night.

Her curls fell to her face
Covering her eyes:
Blue as the sky,
Blue as the void inside...

How many more days of blue
She wondered?
How many days of half -smoked cigarettes,
Almost finished,
But not quite?

He’d be packing his bags the next morning.
He’d be 1000 miles away.
He’d be sitting on the roadside.
He’d be playing a song he wrote at the bus stop
with only blue sky’s ahead.

She’d be at a coffee shop,
Alone
Staring blankly at a newlywed couple:
A hot mess of dimpled smiles and laughter.

She’d start laughing,
No, she’d start crying.
Warm tears would creep down her cheeks.
The memories would play again and again,
Like a broken record player.
She’d want the quiet again,
So she’d grab her cigarette,
Smoke it half way,
And realize, sometimes bad habits
Feel fucking good enough.