Perfume Hound

Here in Oleander Gardens
where men are only
three percent
women hide at the sight of one man

who always asks
if he gets near enough
"what scent is that

"White Shoulders
Tabu
or maybe Opium?"

I heard a widow of ninety-two
yell back at him
"This is Avon's August Roses"
then she hobbled away
as fast as a metal walker can

and left him sniffing the air
trying to remember all
the fragrances
women wear

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.