[Editor’s Note: This is the 10th in a series of poems from “Body Parts,” Dr. Janet Hoult’s collection of poetry about aging.]
The Nose Knows or Does It?
Do you smell what I smell?
A smoky, subtle scent is in the air
Is it your perfume or your hair?
No, it’s the fire beneath the stair!
Oh nose, you do not serve me well.
Can you sniff what I sniff?
Is it lemonade with a tangy odor?
Is it something for which I need a decoder?
It’s just cleaning liquid spilled on the floor.
Oh nose, please help me tell the diff!
Why don’t you work like you used to do?
You’re not much better than my shoe
In providing me the ability to tell
The differences in everything I smell.
I guess our age decreases the intensity
Of aromas for which we once had
the propensity
We’d sniff and sense
the many lovely fragrances
That lured and promised
marvelous romance
But now we live with just
the vague remembrances
Of scents our senses
no longer can enhance.
Ms. Hoult, who lives in Carlson Park with her husband Charlie, may be contacted at HOULTight@aol.com
