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SMOKING AND DRINKING
The world says
Smoking is bad
Drinking is bad
That these two ruin one's health.
Maybe it's right
But I don't care.
For I don't believe
What all I hear
What all I read
Because I live
In a world where
Falsehood thrives
Amid many lies.
I am one of those
Men and women
Who always ask
What and when
Who, where, why
And I know
How words doled out now and then
Aren't always true.
I loved and lost
The fairest maiden
A man can have.
I know she is
In a better world
And I am happy for her.
What makes me sad
Is the fact
That I am still here
Living on for those
Who need me.
I am not being ungrateful
To the One who gave me life
And I know I must hang on
To the rope of survival
Till I must.
Yet I often feel
How arduous this task is:
When a new day dawns
And when it ends
When a new night comes
And when it goes
I am fighting a constant war
With myself
As I will myself to carry on.
And that's when I find
How helpful smoking is
And how soothing drinking is.
I never approached
These two reviled ones
As long as my loved one
Was always there to love me
Wholeheartedly and truly
With her warmth of smiles
And her hazel eyes
In whom were two deep pools
Of paradise.
And from where I used to drink
The best drink a man can have.
But life now is not the same
Any more
There are those who say
They love me truly
Yet they always take
Undue advantage of my feelings
And affections.
So I seek solace
In my friendly pipe and cigars
And sometimes
When the pain of missing
My sweet Daphne
Becomes unbearable
I kill time's stabs
With a few cups of golden wine.
Like I said before
Even if the world is right
About smoking and drinking
I no longer care
About what happens to me.
I know I won't
Pass away before my time
Here has been fulfilled.
So I say:
Fie on you O wretched world!
I just don't care
Any more
For all that you have to say.
For I have to cope with
This stress of my life's burdens.
For those who still need me
While telling Daph'
High up there
To wait for me
For a few years more.
