Maybe They Smoke (Poem)

My wife and I often walk out of our home, whether at 7:30 am or 12 noon, and often smell the strong scent of marijuana. Judging them is easy, for we know the consequences of possessing it in reference to the law. It's simple to declare them as careless, reckless, and blatantly ignorant. How often do we wonder...what they wonder when they decide to roll, smoke, and be in the moment? 

This piece was influenced by that inquiry...   

Maybe They Smoke

to overlook the garbage pile up

near the complex entrance

to make going to work 

worth buying dinner drenched in Five Guys

to forget about tomorrow's pain

and yesterday's hell

to block out the sun

shinning on those with less problems

to get away from jobs

giving everyone's hope an Indian burn 

to make everything funny

one cough away from dying 

to prevent the in-laws

from taking up memory space

to still hide behind leaves

when God comes looking for man blaming Biden

for America's sin

to reminisce about 2019

when human separation was normal

to have better conversations

with their cat than friends

to rest in the space

consumed by their uncertain plans

to validate the Oculus

in search of the real Matrix

to pocket the blue pill

as a backup plan

to feel nothing

but something for nobody but self

maybe they smoke

because...dang...they forgot.

-Calvin W. Pennywell Jr. (2022)