lake Michigan scent lingered
in the grama --grampa house
you could smell the beach
and the sun and sand
in their basement
and in your clothes
when you went home
little Molly could still smell it
in her beepee
her softie nighttime cuddle
so she put it in a Ziploc
to store and savor
when she came home
from the grama-grampa house
till she went again
it smelled of sun-toasty sand
lake water with algae
of driftwood campfire smoke
with notes of pine and hemlock and fir
from the woodsy back dunes
it was happy with a little wistful
joy mixed in with some sorrow
evergreen sweet and spicy
with a hint of salt and pepper
like won't-fall tears that sting your eyes
a good-but-still hurting kind of hurt
a big yearning heart hurt
from loving too much and too hard
and missing it preemptively before it was even gone
feeling the hole though it was still right there
Lake smell was best at bedtime
in the room and walls and blankets
smiley-quiet, not going anywhere
like a loving mommy and daddy
hugging and wishing me goodnight
I liked the hear of the lake too
as she sang me to sleep
with her purring and growling
splashing and hissing
soft yet endlessly tameless
rocking me in her perfume
the grama-grampa house was
the only place I ever smelled
this wildy, salty, piney
sunny, dear, sad-sweet
achy-lakey Michigan scent
now the house doesn't smell the same
because the grama and grampa are gone
and they took it with them
to their new home where I can't visit
and finally the tears start to fall...
Selah
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