November: Nothing is more memorable than scent

“Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains; another, a moonlit beach; a third, a family dinner of pot roast and sweet potatoes during a myrtle-mad August in a Midwestern town. Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines hidden under the weedy mass of years. Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.” – Diane Ackerman

“My garden, with its silence and pulses of fragrance that come and go on the airy undulations, affects me like sweet music. Care stops at the gates, and gazes at me wistfully through the bars.” – Alexander Smith

Scent so sweet it governs the senses. Greetings poets, wayfarers and friends. Welcome to another exciting Monday in the Imaginary Garden. This is Sanaa Rizvi stepping in for Isadora Gruye today.

I remember studying  John Steinbeck’s,”The Chrysanthemums.” After reading this particular piece of literature and understanding the author’s point of view; the mere idea of associating scent with good and bad memories seemed intriguing to me. Do you also associate scent with memory?

"Today I think
Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield,
And bracken, and wild carrot's seed,
An the square mustard field;
Odours that rise
When the spade wounds the root of tree,
Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed,
Rhubarb or celery ..."
-  Edward Thomas, Digging

"Sweetly breathing, vernal air,
That with kind warmth doth repair
Winter's ruins; from whose breast
All the gums and spice of the East
Borrow their perfumes; whose eye
Gilds the morn, and clears the sky."
- Thomas Carew, 1595 - 1645

Your challenge today is to write a poem revolving around scent. You may draw inspiration from the quotes and poems above. Feel free to explore the various possibilities and pour your heart out.

Choose your own form or write in free verse, if preferred. I look forward to reading what you guys come up with. Please do visit others and remember to comment on their poems. Have fun!🌷