Fat Cubans - Dec 3 2022

 

Fat Cubans

Dec 3 2022

I loved the smell

of my father's cigars.

He smoked them happily.

That is, until my mother put her foot down

and banned them,

from the house

the car

even the yard.

A dirty habit

bad for your health.

And the stale smell

infusing everything;

smoke in the upholstery,

wet stubs

dark with saliva

crushed in an ashtray and left.

Nevertheless, I couldn't wait to grow up

and adopt this manly habit,

the ritual

of sniffing, clipping, lighting up;

the male bonding

of men with cigars

looking confident and prosperous;

men only

around a card table

in a smoke-filled room,

drinking scotch

playing poker

cracking dirty jokes.

Fat Cubans

hand-rolled.

But don't.

I still like the smell

but not the smoking.

And men are better behaved, these days.

No ribald stories.

Weak beer only.

Playing online poker

and bridge with the wives.