If it Don't Smell Like Roses

If it Don't Smell Like Roses

A Poem by Chris Shaw
"

(i don't suppose I'm gonna like it)

"
as a young child
i couldn't stand that stink
of fish steaming on the
back burner for our
cats dinner

neither did i approve of
plasticine for similar
reasons, as sickly sweet
aroma lingered on fingers
to make me feel sick

so when miss zycker
instructed the class to be
creative my hands found
themselves deep in my
school dress pockets
where they refused to leave

i would not be moved
not tempted by birds nests
and eggs or slithery snakes
or the pummelling and rolling
of different colours
i stayed stubborn to the end

contrary me when it comes
to smell how about you?
and him indoors has just
opened a can of sardines
can you hear me scream?

© 2020 Chris Shaw


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Featured Review

Ha! Boiled cabbage does it to me, and touching butter or mayonaise, or oh, I'll need to make a list and give a copy to my therapist.
Remember Take Hart? That childhood show must have gave you nightmares when Morph appeared. While we were all laughing and smiling, your Mum would have been trying to peel you off the ceiling with a mop handle 😀
Ahh, poor Chris... But, too funny 😀

Posted 3 Years Ago


2 of 2 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

I think we should start a club. Boiled cabbage is another one that makes me wretch. Thanks for the h.. read more



Reviews

worst is to enter a pub tap after it has been close overnight
or any public vehicle where they allow(ed) smoking

I used to like plasticine smell, but not the sticky mess on my hands
Like the smell of newmown grass

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

Thank you Wild Rose. Of course anything smokey, goes without saying. Thank goodness smoking has been.. read more
I can so relate to you recollection of "smells"! I too. have pet hates of the various smells of childhood... squashed up banana for one, in my little brown nursery school satchel. I wince nearly every time I smell a rotten banana now, because it brings back the terrible time I had there!

Enjoyed this!

~ Helena ~

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

Thank you Helena. Isn't it strange how those childhood smells have a habit of lingering forever? Rea.. read more
Helena

3 Years Ago

You are so welcome Chris!

~ Helena ~
Smelled more than my share of boiled cabbage in the halls of Irish-American newspaper subscribers
to whom I delivered, as a kid. Seemed to seep into neighborhood wallpaper. Yet, today, I enjoy all kinds of cabbage dishes.
Do, however, find the scent of raw sewage rather, a bit, off-putting.
Amusing work, finicky poetess!

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

Love that word finicky. When it comes to smells Jimmy, then yes i am. I knows what my nose likes :)).. read more
Woe to us who're born with super sniffers! Like Lorry, my mother's boiling cabbage was none too pleasant a smell. And your steaming fish--yuck! While all the stinky things cause olfactory overload, the sweeter smells of summer rain and flowers blooming may provide some balance, I think. (I hope) Here's hoping neither of us will pass by any hog farms.

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

I can smell something nasty from fifty yards away Sam. Have a very sensitive sense of smell. Hate th.. read more
Nice comment on the stinky smelly food you can't stand; I'm with you on some of them. I too was a stubborn little girl and no one could make me do or eat anything I didn't want!!! Very nice little poem
Chris.
P.S. I used to hide my spinach under other food!!

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

Thank you Betty. You know I tried that trick too, but with Brussels sprouts. Hope you are keeping we.. read more
I can't stand eggs being cooked.. I add too much lemon or vinegar or garlic to lower the stinky smell. Uncooked chicken too.. My god..

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

oh yes Lale I'd forgotten how rotten the smell of eggs can be at times. Thank you for calling on thi.. read more
Oh I so relate lol As a kid and even now I can't stand the smell of liver cooking, or eggs being prepared, there are a few things actually so I do understand this poem, clever, loved it Chris :)

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

Thanks Ruth, yes another poet mentioned eggs, and come to think of it I understand why. Many thanks .. read more
you are not old enough yet, in a while, you won't be able to smell a thing (or hear)

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

Ha, the joys of old age Dave. Just waiting to pounce round the corner. Thank you for the heads up.read more
Chris, first a much needed lighthearted poem and a well crafted one. My list is longer. But, I must say the top of the list is cigarette smoke, and butts and ashes left in closed room. I refuse to enter. Second would be the odor of cats. Yes, I can smell their urine at 25 yards. I'm a bit of a clean-freak. I think my favorite odor (other than steak on the grill) is pine cleanser in the house, maybe a pumpkin candle. I'll take the roses, too, but I can't usually can't smell them over the stinky things. See what happens when you post poems like this? :)

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Chris Shaw

3 Years Ago

Ha, thank you Robert. Yes all things cigarettes are a real turn off too, and of course cat pee is an.. read more
R.E. Ray

3 Years Ago

You’re welcome, Chris. It was a fun read.

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Added on July 5, 2020
Last Updated on July 5, 2020

Author

Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw

Berkshire, United Kingdom



About
Albert, my paternal grandfather introduced me to Tennyson when I was nine. I have loved poetry ever since but did not attempt writing a single piece until I was 40. It's never too late to try somethin.. more..

Writing
Spoken Spoken

A Poem by Chris Shaw



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