I can’t help but say I feel a profound sense of defeat and doubt as this cigarette charts its course to the most sensitive parts of my lungs. All my predictions for our country went sideways; I damn-near lost my house on this bet.

It’s strange what begins to remind you of home when you're far away for long enough. Sometimes it’s a particular smoke that excites a similar tickle to the one you had in your throat years ago, thrusting you right back into the moment you could reopen your water-shot eyes and finally breathe again. 

The summer of 2024 will always be memorable for various reasons, but one of its core locales rested in my sweat filled gasps for air during my first game at the recreational soccer facility.