Opening My Nose

author’s note:

I envy the Bloodhound.


OPENING MY NOSE

Born with a poor sense of smell
I decided I should work to develop
the few olfactory nerves I possessed

and in the process
of stopping to smell smells
I discovered many surprising benefits--

for instance:
how the crisp scent of frost
clears the mental faculties

and
how the fragrance
of wet decayed leaves
leads me deep within.

I swear I once detected
the odor of mushrooms
on a spring breeze
and for a moment at least
I became a big-headed gray alien
visiting a wonderfully strange planet.

I can even enjoy a whiff of chlorine
on a summer’s afternoon--
such pungent scents wake me
and in waking
I become more aware
of what I see and hear and feel.

Yes, I appreciate the presence
of every strong smell.

Well, maybe not every.

But I dare not close my nose
to what disgusts
because by cutting off
I would also lose the beautiful.

The Truth of the Dream: poetry ebook
© 2021, Michael R. Patton