On Being Pungent
I’ve seen them staring
sideways and shifty
eyelids aflutter, thinking
I’d better be subtle
but it’s too late
for the flare of their nostrils
betrays them
What is that smell?
they wonder and
their wandering eyes
inevitably fall
to me
I’ve seen d-i-s-g-u-s-t written upon their faces but I can read between the lines I know those looks are not for me but for their friends for the others for the public for a-p-p-e-a-r-a-n-c-e-s
For when they draw closed their kitchen drapes these puritanical politicians these religiously righteous refusers s-t-o-p turning up their noses — they come in close breathe in deep and taste I’ve seen them do it I’ve seen them all
I’ve seen d-i-s-g-u-s-t written upon their faces but I can read between the lines I know those looks are not for me but for their friends for the others for the public for a-p-p-e-a-r-a-n-c-e-s
For when they draw closed their kitchen drapes these puritanical politicians these religiously righteous refusers s-t-o-p turning up their noses — they come in close breathe in deep and taste I’ve seen them do it I’ve seen them all