Fading the light...

A poem on the effect of underage smoking on society, in India.

They lure you in while you’re still young;
“Smoke our brand, and you’re up one rung!”
Disgusting at first, then it begins to grow on,
And soon you’re hooked, you’re now their pawn.

Walk down the street and there they are,
Packets lined like soldiers, battling at par.
Twists out of a chimney, she weaves through the air;
Her beauty, the devil’s ultimate snare.

Expected to work miracles with grades,
Your mind’s full of ticking grenades.
Your family’s in absolute disarray
And recently, you realised you’re gay.

Your father’s left you, your mother’s broke,
You saw your girlfriend with another bloke.
Your insides gnaw, your anxieties overload;
Without this vent, you’d surely explode.

The strike of a matchstick, the birth of a flame,
The click of a lighter, set fire to the shame.
The silent pressure of peers drives you to sin;
It almost feels comfortable to peacefully give in.

Your emotions are heightened till they could break,
Inside, you laugh, cry, scream at every wake,
Your boyfriend does it by the chain…
“Just one sniff…” you think, “if only to ease the pain?”

Your Grandpa died of cancer last year,
Your mother’s lungs inspire mounting fear
All-pervading whiffs of tobacco are home to you,
It’s slightest absence seems to give you the flu.

You say it’s illegal, since when?
That kid they’re selling to couldn’t be more than ten!
I’ve heard laws are stringent elsewhere.
From where I am, they surely don’t care.

Statistics pile up in the economist’s notebook:
A million teenagers hanging on the industry’s hook.
Millions of tobacco-related deaths a year,
Cripple generations everywhere.

We are impressionable to infinity.
We could make, or break a society.
Victims of influence, we walk this earth
Fading the light of this age's worth.

I'll admit, this isn't among my best poetry, but I felt like I needed to broaden myself in my work. While this poem might not flow as well, it is the first social piece of poetry I've written, so I guess it's a start. :)