Good Things to be Missing

I am really missing a lot these days
And I think I have it all figured out,
Maybe it's that I no longer have strife
That is something I can certainly tout.

Maybe it's the fact I no longer stink
My clothes and my hair and my house just shine,
Maybe it's that my nails aren't yellowed
With all that horrible nicotine grime.

It might be my skin without the raw rash
Itchy red twitchy, sensitive and sore,
It could just be the aching blood shot eyes
Of which I positively have no more.

It could be that my breath no longer reeks
And my teeth are not markedly stained,
Certainly all the coughing and hacking
Are gone with all the unspeakable pain.

How about all the sinus congestion
In the early morning when I awoke,
And what about all the fatigue I felt
Each and every day that I chain-smoked.

You can see that I am missing a lot
But ask me if I genuinely care,
Every day is now filled with much hope
I am now healthy and much more aware.

© Gail C. Berreitter
July 13, 2005

In Celebration of Nine Months of Freedom from nicodemon.

More poetry from Gail:
From Loss Comes Strength
Outside of Forever
Striking and Pretty from Badly Vile
Gail at 11 Months Smoke Free