Once upon a time, there was a happy kid

He put pride and joy in all the he did

He had a loving family, who he adored

For they were his great big wonderful horde

In time though, the boy grew into his teens

Hard-working with his father’s genes

But everyone points out that he’s got his mother’s eyes

And hopefully, they say, he’ll be just as wise

He gets good grades, near top of the class

And by now he’s even begun playing bass

He has a bright future, that’s easy to see

His teachers, his friends, they all agree

But despite all of that, the best can still fall prey

Even the healthiest plant can come to decay

Peer pressure, and bad decisions

Well, those don’t make such a pretty collision

A dare here, a poor choice there

His family is still unaware

And now it’s quickly become and addiction

The goodness of his early life purged like it’s an eviction

Now he smokes, and he’s become more distant

Those good grades are becoming nearly nonexistent

He and his family don’t get along so well these days

And he seeks out time to smoke like he’s crazed

Smoking will affect him in many ways

And it will change his life because of that one day

What starts as a cough and later a cold

 Becomes asthma, something he can’t control

Bu as it gets worse, the kid – now grown – refuses you stop

He still likes to go down to the corner store

Buy a pack, light up, slowly kill himself

And keep purchasing that poison on a shelf

He’d eventually be diagnosed lung cancer

And it’s easy to see what’s the answer

The man had smoked and smoked away

And his life was snuffed out like a cigarette in an ash tray

The cancer took him, though really it was the smoking

Wheezing away and feebly choking

Realize the mistake he’d made far too late

For it was past the time to finally go straight