“Chandler Bing: Cigarettes are cool and you know it” by Alane Fideler

Pall Malls, Newport Lights -

Resentful daggers shot from his glare;

Seething scowl, gaping nares,

“Not in your image, much less God’s.”

Pierced skin, tattered jeans-

External clues to her mind, he chastised.

Rolled leaves and smoke, he despised:

“You’re killing my image!”

She’s fifteen, he’s older,

She’s oblivious to her natural game.

Perceived threat, she ran home to exclaim:

“Kicked him in the nards, image be damned!

Marlboro smooth, delta nine-

Nuance required if he needs her to exist.

Eternally implicit, He quietly insists:

“Be safe for me, my spitting image,

I love you so.”

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I am Alane Fideler and I am an artist/writer/zinester from Minnesota, on land belonging to the Dakota people. I use zines and poetry to process complex emotions stemming from my bipolar 2 disorder, my former career as a surgical tech, and my years as a military spouse.

@ayemfid

ko-fi.com/ayemfid