Short Poem: The Passenger Ashes His Cigarette

Nick's a graduate of USF, where he studied English and Philosophy. He also attended Columbia University's MFA Creative Writing program.

The Passenger Ashes His Cigarette

The passenger ashes his cigarette

out the window as he complains

about the route his phone suggested.

Beneath the splintered branches

of a dead manzanita,

a family of rodents lay hidden

from the birds of prey.

The embers land in the brush.

The wind does not extinguish,

but drives the flames higher.

Plumes of ash and pelt

take flight in the rearview mirror.