Duality | Poetry Breakdown

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The bright and welcoming scent of a blossoming honeysuckle bush
brings me back to joyous summers of running wildly, dancing hair.
	But when the flowers fall, become trampled – 
	as they rot away creating a sore drunken stench that’s almost nauseating
	especially when accompanied with the metallic scent of blood,
	wincing after a scraped knee. 

The chatter of butter bubbling in a pan – 
a toasty aroma that makes my mouth instantly water. 
An afternoon snack, a loving gesture like a tight embrace and 
the words, welcome home. I’ve missed you.
	But when the smoke rises from the blackening butter,
	voices escalating with pointing fingers and teary eyes. 
	The meal grows cold as the sun dips beyond the horizon –
	a shroud of darkness with no intention of turning on the lights. 

The woodiness of a pencil as it’s ground to a point in preparation for an exam. 
Lining them up parallel to the paper so they won’t roll off – 
am I nervous from the lack of preparation or 
am I spilling with information?
But when the lingering wood coats my sweaty palms,
staring in disbelief at the multitude of angry red marks –
a night of wasted efforts. 

I forget.
I can remember
my sweet and sour.
I take and keep precious memories, lessons learned.

Have you ever smelled a scent that instantly reminded you of a memory? Freshly cut grass reminds me of summer, an old book reminds me of book fairs, and potting soil reminds me of gardening with my dad. According to livescience.com, the reason smells might trigger memories is because “the brain regions that juggle smells, memories and emotions are very much intertwined.”

One of my favorite YouTube channels played with this concept by bringing up scents that would hopefully trigger their shared memories.

Source: Good Mythical Morning

In my poem, I write about scents that remind me of certain memories accompanied with the contrasting smell that can evoke a negative experience. Sometimes both could be present at the same time and it could be a matter of whichever you focus on or sometimes it can be the quick transition between the positive to the negative memory that can be shocking. There might even be positive memories that became tainted by negativity, but there’s always the opportunity to “take it back” and make a better memory. Life is so dynamic, never static!

What are some memories that you’ve had to “take back”? What is a very distinct scent that can instantly take you back to your past? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Thank you for reading my poem! I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a comment and rating below! Your responses mean a lot! Feel free to check out my other posts that I’ve written and my writing Instagram! I’ve also linked my Ko-Fi where you can donate out of your own overflow to further support this blog!

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