Scents of an Evening Walk in Early Autumn

One step out the door
I take a deep breath
Inhale the sparkling air
With all the safety
Inherent in its cleanliness
I feel healthy

Thirty steps out the door
I take another deep breath
Greenery both living and dead
Reminds me I live
Part of a greater whole
Existing within a macrocosm that will continue
Long after my tiny microcosm within it
Disappears

One thousand steps out the door
I breathe the warm earthy lumber
Piled on that flatbed parked next to the sidewalk
How I love the smell of wood
Especially fresh lumber as
It means construction
Which means creation
Which means destruction is morphing
Into a new beginning
As I continue walking away
I notice the scent fading behind me
I wonder what purpose
That stack of two-by-fours will serve

Two thousand steps out the door
I am surprised by the next scent
Immediately thinking of carpeted apartments
That keep their windows closed far too much
A smoker doesn’t live there
But visits just regularly enough
To leave a trace that the sensitive will notice
This follows me for half a city block
And as I wonder why I find it here
Out in the street
In my mind I’m tiny again
Visiting my great grandmother

Three thousand steps out the door
Is that motor oil I smell now?
A car parked in this lot earlier
May have been slightly wounded
I hope its keeper can afford
To heal it

Four thousand steps out the door
Nearing the end of my aromatic adventure
A warm blend of bold seasoning and spices
Confidently presented to the visitors of the
Chinese restaurant in front of me
(Or is it Taiwanese?)
I think I will try the food there someday soon

Stepping over the threshold
I’ve come full circle
And find the greatest scents of all
Tugging my heartstrings
Such as the remaining smoke and seasoning
Of the meal prepared mere hours before
That still comforts me
From within my belly
And next with eyes closed
In a tight embrace
With my nose is buried in the clothes he wears
And the mighty arms that hold me
All I can smell is cotton
His favourite soap
And him

I pause to take as much of this
Well-seasoned love into me as I can
For while among scents like this
My unsteady heart is reassured
I am loved beyond question
I am undoubtedly home

September 26-28, 2024