Collision

my throat is in ribbons
from the dozen cigarettes
saving me daily

one throat for a lifeboat
I'd say that's fair trade
I'd say I've got it made

now I watch the burning
bridge jump back
from the water

now the grass
begins to show

these days I draft up
my dark blueprints
with the stubbornness
of the sea

thinking maybe I should
have been an architect

these days have been
like a cigarette— feels good,
and killing me