Growing up, the stink of cigarettes

was everywhere. Car rides with

windows rolled up. Countless packs

of Parliament 100’s and Camels

on TV stands, end tables, even

the center of our dining room table.

While a part of me hated the smell

of cigarette smoke, it was also home,

love even, wrapped up in every hug

I ever received from my parents.

Perhaps that’s why last Tuesday

I followed a man in a Charlotte Hornets

jersey around Harris Teeter for five minutes,

breathing in the trail of cigarettes

wafting off his clothes. It was almost

like being home. Almost.

Steve Cushman is the author of three novels, including Portisville, winner of the 2004 Novello Literary Award. He has published two poetry chapbooks, and his first full-length collection, How Birds Fly, won the 2018 Lena Shull Book award. His latest collection, The Last Time, was published by Unicorn Press in 2023. Cushman lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, and works in the IT department at Cone Health.