Smell | Teen Ink

Smell

March 25, 2021
By piperw811 PLATINUM, Pittsford, New York
piperw811 PLATINUM, Pittsford, New York
45 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
"chemistry between people is the strangest science of all" - Bridgett Devoue


Sitting in the chapel, the candles

Burn brightly in front of us and I catch

A whiff of the burning, woodsy aroma from the wax

 

The evocative scent whisks me away -  

Ten years old, with my grandparents,

Playing games and sitting around a fire

A Christmas Tree is lit but

Our happiness keeps the room warm

Everyone laughing and smiling

So much easier

 

Holding my breath for as long as I can

Afraid if I breathe out, the memory will leave

And it disappears, without warning

 

My heart goes still.

 

No grandparents.

No happy family.

No Christmas Tree.

 

No memory.

 

Where did it come from?

I want it back

 

The scent, the smoke from the candle,

It triggers another memory.

The Tree, it smelled the same way.

 

I haven’t seen my family in so long.

 

They’re gone, along with the memory

I ache to inhale another scent

To recall another story

But the smell withdraws

And my efforts are seemingly useless.

 

My hands – numbed and charred – remain as

A mark of my past life;

A life I can no longer recall.

 

A life I long to remember.

 

Moments and flashes of stories are evoked,

Told through scents and scars.

My story may be too tragic to tell.

 

Maybe I can still tell it, but without any words.


The author's comments:

Smell is a part of Senses, a collection of poems dedicated to our five senses. I love the idea of smell being a retainer of memory; very acute scents can trigger the barest wisps of memories. These memories also have a mind of their own – they don't like to stick around for too long, so we have to hold onto them whenever they arise. 


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