Autumnal Scents
Aromatic Poem, inspired by a suggestion made by Brin. J.
Autumn,
the season of change, of transition,
is one of decomposition
and a strange, mysterious and intoxicating concoction of satisfying and dramatic odours.
The scent of burnt wood and ash in the air
the way it clings to your clothes, skin and hair
the rotting pungent scent of the dying Jack-O-Lanterns that have been left on the doorsteps creating a strangely comforting autumnal bouquet of perfumed decay sweetened by the apples that have fallen from the trees, discarded and left to slowly turn rancid, avoiding the violent end of waterboarding and being eaten alive or being burned alive and covered in a sickly sweet glass-like embalming fluid before facing the same end as their waterboarded bretherin.
For a season of change, a season of inevitable, scheduled death and waste, there is a delightful, earthy and spicy aroma to the autumn, one that will disappear in due time and gradually diminish as the temperature drops and the detoxification, and self sanitation begins during winter.
Until then, enjoy revelling in the sobering, relaxing and heady nose of cinnamon, firewood, ash, moulding fruit, dead leaves and gunpowder.
Walk through the woods and savour the oddly calming and natural stench of the world around you recycling and refreshing itself.
Inhale all the wonderful smells, the sweet and the spicy, the aromatic and the putrid.
*
Thanks for reading!
Author's Notes: This piece was inspired by a suggestion made by the wonderful Brin. J in the comments section of my poem Spitting Feathers, which you can read by following this link:
In the words of the woman herself:
"I'm curious Paul, if you could write a poem on the subject of scents? It could be dark, like the smell of smoke, or beautiful, like the smell of lavender. A thing that evokes some type of response, so we can all imagine breathing it in and sharing the emotion as we follow along.
I'd love to read it."
Hope you enjoy it, Brin and everyone else. I really tried on the scents thing...might do another take a different time, but I'm happy with it for now. Please be sure to check out Brin's writing, as she is exceptionally talented:
Here are a few other pieces you might like:
You can also look at my profile for more right here.
About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Scottish-Italian poet/writer from Glasgow.
Overflowing in English language torture and word abuse.
"Every man has a sane spot somewhere" R.L Stevenson
The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection is now available!
https://paulspoeticprints.etsy.com
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>That was a bad idea. I thought you knew… >Oh, the pathos! I don’t really know you as well as I should. In fact, I may not know the real you at all. That essential, sparkling you that you only reveal to a select few. Had I been paying more attention to the stories you are so fond of telling, in which you are invariably author, narrator and protagonist, I would not have been so foolish as to set you up on a blind date. After all, no friend has ever done anything of the kind for another. That’s preposterous. What is a friend, really?
By D. J. Reddall7 days ago in Fiction
Comments (11)
Autumn is my absolute favorite and I love this poem and the picture you chose. Beautiful. All of it.
Wow! What an incredible piece, Pal! I smelled every word- such a sensory experience! Brilliant job! I love this! Going to breathe it in again. 👃🏼✨💫💞👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I "scents" a story worthy of a Top Story here, Paul. Way to meet the challenge.
autumnal bouquet of perfumed decay… A beautiful line! (Amongst many) This perfectly fits the brief given, nice work! ✨🤍
Paul! I love it!!! I knew you'd hit the mark🤗 I found myself inhaling a few times as I could actually smell the crispness of Autumn's air. This was so well done. A mixture of romantic and melancholic. "For a season of change, a season of inevitable, scheduled death and waste, there is a delightful, earthy and spicy aroma to the autumn" was my favorite part. I appreciate you fulfilling my request and writing this🥹. It's a beautiful creation, my soul is happy
Loved the cynicism in this! I don't much get Halloween. All seeps like a lot of random fuss...but then I feel similarly about Christmas, except that's not quite as random 🤍
At first I was like wth is an aromatic poem. It was answered by your poem itself. Loved your fragrant poem!
This is an intriguing piece! “savour the oddly calming and natural stench of the world”.. I don’t know if I was supposed to laugh at that line, but I found it humorous! 😅
Oh you have a gift! I could smell the surprisingly pleasant decay. Everyone talks about the visual beauty of autumn. This was my first time reading the aromas described so poetically.
This poem reminded me of the smell of cedar. Lovely!
I love the description! Walking in the woods in the autumn is my favorite