What's another word for…

Smoke?

I try really hard to avoid repeating words in a poem unless I'm purposely trying to make a point or set up a particular rhythm. I admit that I'm a little obsessive about it.

So I wanted another word for smoke, as in the noun, as in smoke rising from a campfire, as in follows beauty or gets in your eyes.

The online thesaurus associated with Microsoft Office offered only three paltry synonyms for the verb and not a noun anywhere.

I trundled downstairs and lugged up the big, swanky, hardcover Roget's. No smoke anywhere.

So far, online sites are yielding synonyms for pot and baseball pitches. I could work on this all day. I'd rather not, though.

Any ideas?

Where do you look for words? When do you give up and either keep the repetition or write something completely different?

And tonight, the air will thicken when fires color the sky.

Happy Fourth of July.