Baiting the Hook by Ben Rasnic

Coming to terms
with that last offering
from a crushed pack
of Salems
now snuffed
down to the filter,
you sift frantically
through the overfilled ashtray
for something to light
because the lure
of vodka & tonic
still wavers enticingly
from the shallow bottom
of your crystal cocktail glass.



Ben Rasnic finds sanctuary in a quiet Bowie, Maryland subdivision where the only sounds at night are crickets and the lonesome wail of a passing Norfolk Southern freight train.