Balachandran V's poem follows a single cigarette from the moment the packet is opened to the moment the last trace of smoke disappears. The opening details are sensory and close-up: the crackle of cellophane, the smell of tobacco, trembling fingers. The speaker seems to know this ritual well, and the poem lingers over it with something close to pleasure. The lighting, the first deep drag, and the smoke settling into the blood are described as a tingle of relief, as if the body has been waiting for it.
Then the mood shifts. The smoke rings dance, drift off, and vanish, leaving only a fragrance, and even that fades. The final line turns suddenly personal: the fragrance is gone "like you." That small phrase suggests someone has been lost, though the poem doesn't say who. The title, "Gone up in Smoke," carries the same double meaning. The poem moves from craving and comfort to emptiness, leaving a quiet, wistful feeling about things that burn away.