Smoke Break Outside Swann's Chapel Church by Abby N. Lewis

He sits in his Lincoln, smokes a cigarette
and thinks of his wife.
No doubt she has a list of chores for him
as long as his hours spent at work:
the wall in the bedroom needs a facelift,
the pool could use sanitizing
after the grandkid’s last visit, the second
guest room door squeaks.
No one ever stays in that room anyway.
Then she’ll complain
she forgot the butter for the brownies,
could he buy some?
He rehearses how to tell her no,
sticks a hand out the door
and taps the rolled paper. Eventually,
he smothers the butt
on the dash—the Lincoln coughs to life,
and as he pulls away,
exhaust smoke rises in the rearview mirror
to blend with the alabaster wall.



Abby N. Lewis is a poet from Dandridge, Tennessee. She is the author of the poetry collection Reticent. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in Timber, Cheat River Review, The Allegheny Review, and elsewhere. Her chapbook, This Fluid Journey, will be published by Finishing Line Press in September 2018.