Scent

There is another woman's scent in my nostrils
on my upper lip
my tongue - inadvertently

See it was a hug
and I was caught off guard
between the squash chicken noodle soup
and the Tropicana grape juice

She came from behind

hugging me

and I
turned head first into the crook of her neck
into the pulse of her body
into the belly of her scent

and it lingered

that touch of perfume or cologne

it lingered,
though I wiped it
it remained

on my person

her scent lingered in my memory
causing me to
speak to myself
in the middle of the day
out loud

of how my belly
quivered
from her scent

and how all I could do was lament
the fact that it was not you
that I had turned
head first
into...

and I can appreciate
why a man
can chase anything
in a skirt
with boobs
and curves
and woman-ness...

What I can honor now
is knowing
one day,
I will be able to fully love you
with the same intensity
that I cherished
that scent
of another
woman...

© 2005 Sandra Jean-Pierre