You'd think I hang out with poets...
I wrote this a while back, but it got a really good response when I read it at Poetrynight last night, so I decided to post it.
Eau de Ink and Flowers
1.
One evening, you told me I smelled lovely,
"Like ink and flowers."
Despite your drunk diction at the time,
I assumed you intended the phrase
as a romantic compliment.
I smiled, and enjoyed the attention.
Much later, I questioned the phrase.
2.
"So… you’re saying,
I smell like a daisy dipped in an inkwell?
or the fumes from a sharpie sunflower?
or a carnation quill pen?
or do I smell like those plastic petunias
taped to the tops of pens in a receptionists office?
Is that what I smell like darlin’?”
"No. Ink and flowers.
You smell like every writer’s dream girlfriend."
That simple statement,
every writer’s dream girlfriend
demanded I dab dots of ink on my wrists
put petals on my pressure points
and mist my neck with mums,
to cure your writers block.
As glamorous as it was to be your dream,
I began to identify myself as that girl
who smells like a feminine form of your hobbies.
Heaven forbid I forget to
quick spritz some eau de ink and flowers
before breakfast
before dinner and a movie
before yoga class,
before I meet any friend of yours
(I wouldn’t have a friend left,
if they cared what you smelled like)
before Poetrynight
before showering
before... and immediately after
any time we made love.
and hold your nose
if I smell like indie-rock once in a while.
I decided if I’m going to smell like ink,
it’s not going to be smudged
from the sweat on scribbled screenplays.
I'd rather you smell my words
like the ink from this printed poem,
or better yet,
the ink from notes on a page of sheet music
warm like a cello and oboe duet
...the love song you never wrote me.
And if I’m going to smell like flowers
they aren’t going to be the generic ones
you pick for me when you know I’m pissed off.
I’d rather smell like a pansy
picked by a cute boy who says
"This is pretty - like you"
I want to smell like my own dreams.
I guess it’s good, that I'm tired
of smelling like ink and flowers.
because the mall stopped stocking that scent.
Eau de Ink and Flowers
1.
One evening, you told me I smelled lovely,
"Like ink and flowers."
Despite your drunk diction at the time,
I assumed you intended the phrase
as a romantic compliment.
I smiled, and enjoyed the attention.
Much later, I questioned the phrase.
2.
"So… you’re saying,
I smell like a daisy dipped in an inkwell?
or the fumes from a sharpie sunflower?
or a carnation quill pen?
or do I smell like those plastic petunias
taped to the tops of pens in a receptionists office?
Is that what I smell like darlin’?”
"No. Ink and flowers.
You smell like every writer’s dream girlfriend."
That simple statement,
every writer’s dream girlfriend
demanded I dab dots of ink on my wrists
put petals on my pressure points
and mist my neck with mums,
to cure your writers block.
As glamorous as it was to be your dream,
I began to identify myself as that girl
who smells like a feminine form of your hobbies.
Heaven forbid I forget to
quick spritz some eau de ink and flowers
before breakfast
before dinner and a movie
before yoga class,
before I meet any friend of yours
(I wouldn’t have a friend left,
if they cared what you smelled like)
before Poetrynight
before showering
before... and immediately after
any time we made love.
and hold your nose
if I smell like indie-rock once in a while.
I decided if I’m going to smell like ink,
it’s not going to be smudged
from the sweat on scribbled screenplays.
I'd rather you smell my words
like the ink from this printed poem,
or better yet,
the ink from notes on a page of sheet music
warm like a cello and oboe duet
...the love song you never wrote me.
And if I’m going to smell like flowers
they aren’t going to be the generic ones
you pick for me when you know I’m pissed off.
I’d rather smell like a pansy
picked by a cute boy who says
"This is pretty - like you"
I want to smell like my own dreams.
I guess it’s good, that I'm tired
of smelling like ink and flowers.
because the mall stopped stocking that scent.