A Whiff of Carbolic

Frreeverse

I sniff at my hands and oh!
Such scent, such ecstasy,
a memory presented to my nose.
But where do we find this block of adorable redness?

It was sold in every shop: lovable carbolic soap,
an aromatic compound, so ruddy, so redolent.
But this is now so rare; it merely
presents itself to my pleading mind -

a psyche that puts forth its arms,
a plea to a storehouse of valuable memory,
a whiff of an echo, an echo of an odour,
an odour that's been sent.

So who remembers, recalls a soap that's not
so round, bright pink, cream, blue or white,
that isn't sold in pretty-pretty paper?
We do so wish to sniff, sniff, sniff at an odour that's so old.

(3 Oct 2023)

Reviews

[Casey Truax]

Apparently scent is the strongest trigger of memory. This soap is the madeleine to your Proust. The meter and repetitions work well here.

[Andrew John]

Thanks so much for your comment, Casey.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

I don’t recall carbolic but do have a strong memory of the box of yellow sunlight soap Mum used it to wash clothes before the powders came in
That scent brings my childhood back

Loved your write

[Andrew John]

Thanks for comment, Julie. As with Chris's comment on this page, we do seem to get thrown back in time by what happens to our noses.

[Andrew John]

Thank you very much, Tracey.

[Chris Shaw]

You took me back many years here. I can’t recall carbolic soap but when I lived with my Nan as a child, she used Wright’s coal tar soap. A yellow bar with a very distinct smell. Not unpleasant but not at all flowery and fragrant. Haven’t thought about that for years. Enjoyed the read.

Chris

[Andrew John]

Thanks for comment, Chris. As with Julie's comment on this page, we do seem to get thrown back in time by what happens to our noses.