-notation-

notating that the outside atmosphere

carries with it the same fragrances

which saturate the inside;

the scent of metal and water;

of warm bread peeled

from the baker's ovens, the significant

odor of leaded gasoline

and the broader, interior expansion

of sprat perfumes standing on dressers;

the calls of fire,–– the beaten

baseball, black and dank from rainfall

sitting on the sill in the drying sunlight;

needle strung cotton at the delicate

hands of thread mill stitchers, the aromas

of sweet tomato sauces draped across the cracked
and weeding tarmac of the playground, wafting

from window to window; the school-time chalk-

dust of the afternoon's fundamental arithmetic

coating our nostrils; and the still, morning fragrance

of June, even as the drowned, blanched and violet,

are fished from the water.

the night's gatherings in close quarters are face-to-face

at the supper tables, where a screen door away the narrow
entries linger as the links to everything coming and going,

street crossing to street crossing, each with its distinction,––

and if the destination has to begin someplace, it can begin here.

 Quequechan