My Therapist Asks Me to Name Something I Can Smell
The musty scent of old books.
Damp curl of hymnal pages
in a humid sanctuary.
Shadowed by the illuminated cross
hanging among silver
flues of a pipe organ,
my hands and heart are wrenched
wide open, too small to grasp the whole
of love as long as I keep them closed.
It’s only when I let myself cry
that salt and light swirl in my eye. Alone
in a church built over a swamp,
I breathe the aroma of Christ.
22 thoughts on "My Therapist Asks Me to Name Something I Can Smell"
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Love “open, too small to grasp the whole/of love”
amazing how the lines flesh out what it feels like to breathe “the aroma of Christ,” although I linger over the word “aroma”
very nice imagery
Beginning (where you had me already) to end (with the culmination in “the aroma of Christ”), powerful. Felt this.
A perfectly titled poem. Very tactile and sensual.
i’ve visited this poem a couple times today… trying to figure out what it is keeping it at arms length from me… (i really want to like it). i don’t mean to be a jerk and disagree with linda, but i think it’s the title…
i need a bit more mystery overall, the title as is feels too clinical for the poem itself… maybe consider something with ‘vapor’ or ‘sublime’… a hint of the swamp etc… so it can be bookent by the end..
(sorry linda- but i think you know i’m kind of a freak about naming things.. 🙂
Totally fair, I wrote this for a collection and there’s one for each of the 5 senses. On its own and out of that context I don’t think the title makes much sense either.
in that case… maybe just calling it ‘scent’ is enough 🙂
doubles for a little wordplay too.
or ‘scent there…’
or ‘one of five’…
ok ok i’ll stop now 🙂
I like this actually..: bc I know why she asked 😆
And a series is PERFECT. I want hear, see, touch & taste. The title begs the “inquiry.” Definitely looking to understand the suggestion here. But I get it and understand
Wonderful! I also remember that smell of my home church, which probably came mostly from the glue binding the hymnals. Thanks for taking me back there!
Like others say, so many rich details. I’m drawn to “It’s only when I let myself cry/
that salt and light swirl in my eye.” for its music. Seems appropriate given the subject. Nice one, Chelsie!
Love your use of the word ‘Alone’ at the end there. Keeping it in the penultimate stanza lets it attach and add weight to the crying, but also guides the reader into the powerful closing. Well done.
All I can say– I did not only smell it, you took me on a free association wherever you felt the room and the tiniest details of your self. You raised the bar today for everyone. 😀
Beautifully crafted!
Cool. Check out Hal Sirowitz’s collection, My Therapist Says, if you get a chance.
The aroma of Christ!
Wonderful last line! A culmination of the other images.
I love the provocative title and the the journey you take to that final line.
t’s only when I let myself cry
that salt and light swirl in my eye. Alone
in a church built over a swamp,
>> I can smell it too!
Lovely…I’m working in an archive in Rome this month, and that particular smell follows me around! Beautifully done!