An Ode

I don't like your cigarettes
All they give me is smoke
I've asked you many times to quit
We both know it's not a joke

But that won't stop us hanging out
Sit outside and drink our beers
Catching moments of raw honesty
Then laugh till we have tears

Am I guarded? Am I private?
Is my heart out on my sleeve?
Judgement is a faithless fear
Yet what you say, I believe

Gently, with these boxing gloves,
We par and pass and jab
Love's kindness can be brutal truth
Ever softly comes the stab

Orange embers, tinged in blue
So close, held to your face
There's things I wish and hope to see
Yet not to leave this place.