Tastes like

Tonight I lit a cigarette
and it tasted like lights
refracted in puddles on
never emptied streets a
break on my fire escape
rats looking for a mate
their next meal and a
home for the night
it tasted like people
below with places to go
a stoop, and another
flat beer and a rooftop
with a skyline and
spinning a city spinning
my ears full of hum and
eyes unfocused for this
inhale and exhale I know
where and when someone
calls my name and I ash
the butt I cannot help but
turn to what’s next