Scent of Life ©
Cool rain drumming on blistering asphalt,
the scent streams into nostrils.
Uncertain why it pleases.
Fresh popcorn drenched in butter,
childhood memories of
dark, musty movie houses when
Tom Mix raced across the screen.
Rich, peaty earth turned over under an autumn sky,
a primal sense of conclusion with the
larder full at harvest time.
Wrapped in strong arms, nose pressed to warm skin.
Drinking in the heat and smell of the man, your man,
beloved man, the partner in life.
Sweet puppy breath. Pure doggy conviction
that you will love him as much as he loves you.
Soft curls and sweet skin of the new babe,
powdery newness, innocence,
and trust.
Candles and incense in the great cathedral,
eons of faith, hope, belief and expectation.
Briny, sharp tang of a northern sea,
Balmy, yielding, salty essence under
the southern Cross.
Sultry air twines itself through the Vieux Carre.
Crushed sugar, wet pavement,
warm beer, praline sweet, heady grape.
Old water from a great river.
Metallic, bitter, smell of blood, be it from battle field,
hospital, butcher shop or birthing room.
Cloying In the nostrils, sticking in the throat.
Manure, pink sugary sweet, sawdust,
roasted peanuts, old canvas, the Big Top!
Childhood rushes back.
New trees, old petroleum, pine sol,
stale baloney, truck exhaust, tired clothes.
Drive on down the highway.
Quaking aspen, pitchy sap, crackling’ fire,
snowy air assaults the senses and warms
the heart.
The loon sings.
Available in Moths and Machetes, Book of Poetry
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BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK