I’m lucky to live where the wind blows. Where interbeing is a sweet or sharp or ticklish truth in my nose.
Photo by Braydon Anderson on Unsplash
The Prompt
Smell has a suddenness to it. You don’t see it coming for you, small on the horizon but growing upon approach. It just happens—one moment, you give zero thought to your olfaction, and the next, the whole world is a honeysuckle blossom (if you’re lucky) or a dirty diaper (less lucky).
For today’s prompt, give extra attention to your sniffer! (And I’m so sorry if you’re too stuffed up to smell anything, but maybe that is a poem in itself?)
In the space that you’re in right now, if you close your eyes or soften your gaze and breathe in through your nose, what does it smell like? How about if you walk into your kitchen? Or snuggle up with your favorite animal? Or pull off that sweaty shirt and don a new one? Or abandon self-consciousness and spend some time strolling the neighborhood, sniffing all the flowers? If you’re lucky enough to have a wind blowing through, how about pretending you’re a dog for a moment or two, turning your head this way and that to smell whatever is carried on the breeze? These questions aren’t just about identifying what you smell—naming the sources of various fragrances. It’s also about simply settling into the experience of smell. What is it actually like to smell something?
Speaking for myself, sight tends to be the sense I grab for first in my poems. My poems talk a lot about how things look. Most of us are very visual creatures, so it makes sense if you do this, too (no pun intended, but yay for accidental punniness). I wonder if there’s a smell-inspired poem waiting for you sniff it into consciousness? Take your time. Notice what your olfactory oracle has to say. Allow your experiences of smell to lead you down unexpected paths. I look forward to reading whatever poems emerge from this!
P.S. I’ve only heard back from a few of you about the Poetry in Nature zoom call on May 11, and so I’m considering putting that on pause for now and coming back to it down the line when there’s more availability/interest. If you’re hoping to attend and haven’t told me so, now would be a good time to let me know before I make that decision! If you missed the memo on this, you can read about it in the end of this post.
Great prompt Lisa, smell. Not my typical poem or writing, so please forgive me for some of the references.
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Oh the power within the sense of smell.
Both odiferous and fragrant come to foretell
of life’s wondrous mystery as one magic spell.
Some becoming perfumes for the market to sell
while others travel the body only to expel.
The delicious ones I am most moved to tell
sweet aroma’s lingering on my tongue do dwell.
Yet those vile and foul stenches, are best left in hell.
I am completely sure only the incredible Lisa Jensen coud elicit a poem about garlic from me!
Garlic
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I am a spicy little clove, yes I am
and I hail quite proudly from the garlic clan,
sliced and diced by many a hand;
sending my super powers across the land.
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Fit for a pizza, pasta, stir fry and cheese,
I am even ready for a freeze!
Yours to share and enjoy as you please
breathing in that feisty fragrance on the breeze.
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Protection, healing, keeping vampires at bay
I am ready to stir, shuffle, blend and play.
Guaranteed to bring a heightened spice to your day
trust me, there really is no better way.
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Some have tried to quiet and throw me out,
If you imbibe too much you’ll sweat me out,
learning in the truest way what I am about
not content to be silent, but to shine with a shout!