Cigarettes

By Rita

i wanna sing

like etta james

along the notes of trumpets

amongst the symphony of an orchestra

i wanna shine

be famous

sing for the grammys

and be chased down roads

by paparazzi

i want the world to know my name

be an idol to little girls

and shine on stage

crowds will sing my tunes

and i’ll find my reflection

shining on bright billboards

but that’s a child’s dream

i aint amount to nothing

but a girl can dream, can’t she?

smokin her last cigarette

‘Cigarettes’ is a poem from Rita’s chapbook ‘Silence Her’. Over the course of 2022, a select group of young writers was invited to take part in a year-long writing program at Story Factory. Their goal was to produce a collection of poetry. This is one of the collections produced in these workshops. 

Year of Poetry 2022 was supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and Parramatta Leagues Club.