Cut It Short

I cut my cent / a

Ment-thols with a slash,

A little lispy rendition, like me

Exhaling mint puffed up like clouds

Into the dead as night air.

The inky residue dissolved and meshed

Into the hashed paper, leaving a birthmark black

Stain on it’s face.

I picked the cent up from the floor,

Grabbed some menthols from the store,

Used a metaphorical bandage to cover the slash

And finished it with a –