Free Gift with Purchase

Free Gift With Purchase

There’s this smell that you smell
Only once,
Twice if you’re lucky,
When the water in the shower is
Too cold
And you’ve already slipped twice getting in;
When the wind outside is fast and cold –
A two-minute encounter with the universe –
And the rain is slowly stopping,
Its barely-there rhythm the meter for
An unsung song,
While black night turns to grey morning.
And there it is.
Through the open window and the
Steaming shower,
One quick breath filters through
Shampoo and drying concrete
To that once-in-a-lifetime,
Twice-if-you’re-lucky, smell.
There, in once scent, is the answer to
Every question ever asked.
Then, just as quickly, it’s gone
And you’re left with
The smell of shampoo
And the cold water
Dripping down your back.