Why I Don't Mind Cigarette Smoke

1966

my sister and I

in the back seat of my parents

powder blue Chevy Impala

on the way home from a Sunday trip

to Grandpa's house in The City

where I stared for hours

out his back window

at the neon Hamm's beer glass

filling up over and over,

I felt safe and warm 

in the back seat

no seat belts

the car full of cigarette smoke

from Mom and Dad

as we headed down the freeway

they used to call Bayshore

back to our windswept home in the fog

while begging our Dad to turn on

KYA or KFRC on the radio.

Those simple days are over,

Tell It Good-bye.

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   April 2014