fallen verses

Figures in Rep(r)ose

Scent, Memory

Bodies tingling in the afterglow of simultaneous orgasm, breaths quick, shallow, and in sync. My body a parallel arc to yours, my face nestled in the mussed pile of your hair. Casually, I decipher the network of scents, and know your day: early morning smell of sleep, drip coffee and peppermint toothpaste. Light lavender of your bodywash; citrus extracts in your shampoo. Remnant of new car smell, the off-clean of corporate cubicles and bureaucracy. Starbucks latte and with the foam I can almost smell the James Taylor on repeat. Afternoon meeting where no one ate the stale muffins. Car again as you drove here, thai curry, chopsticks, dry Riesling, and finally the smell of my cologne. Soon your skin will goosebump as you wait for the shower to warm, then the heavy scent of jasmine in the conditioner you call your “gym shampoo” if your husband ever bothered to notice.