A Second

Scrambled by the toxins
destroyed by the fumes
he understands that all it takes
is a second

His liver slows down
and his lungs are accumulating carcinogens
but all he thinks about
is her

He knows what would happen
if at any given moment
he were to jerk a bit too fast
or look away in guilt

And he tells me everything
like I once wished he would
and even now
my mind splits in vertigo

He's foul-mouthed
and charming
His sense of humor is alarming
and he knows he has everything
he ever wanted

But he understands that all it takes
is that jerk
that puff
that drink
that broken heart

to lose everything he ever worked for.

And that

Makes him wise.