Scents

A walk through the forest

dogs lead the way

I notice the scent of cigarette smoke

mixing with the smell of

wet birch trees

It takes me back to being a teen

When all the smells were fresh

as fresh as

the day I was born

that virgin tobacco smoke

sticking to my clothes

like a wet kiss

the smell of weed

rifling into my nose

with a hint of purpose

and forgotten ambitions

I walk through the smells

of a forest robbed of nature

that scent of oily cologne

singing my eyes as it leaves

the running man’s clothing

and pushes me into an oasis

of death

like when old, pruning woman

sits beside me on the train

I could smell her perfume

as soon as the doors whisper

HELLO

and she steps through the opening

My nose burns more & more

as she waddles even closer to me

and takes her seat

Her makeup stains her smile

with a hint of repulsion

like she’s hiding from the world

with a mask of hideousness

It’s amazing how these simple smells

in a New Hampshire forest

can bring you to a state of mind

representing a place you had left behind