The Smell of Love
by Katie Kim
as the welcome sign on the floor swings
from the call of the wind,
a yellow polka dot dress fluttering
left to right, left to right, releasing
its aroma of jasmine & citrus
as if it were steaming from a fresh cup
in a japanese restaurant, the aroma
that wanders the halls of my mind
every summer-swept night. the lattice straw hat spiraling
up toward the ceiling. still, the jasmine & citrus
hugs the air in the vacant living room where
i lie down on the tethered couch, solemn. the long
pitch black locks curl smiles into my eyes—
onto my nose, even gracing my lips, one
by one, and i am drawn into the scent
embedded in each wind-kissed yellow polka dot, each
fiber of her lattice straw hat, each squiggle
of her long charcoal locks. i look down
at my thighs and once again see yellow
polka dots, they’ve become familiar. my mother slowly
approaches my acne-stamped forehead, dimples
piercing the pale symmetry of my cheeks
and, i don’t know why, how, i smile—the jasmine & citrus
wafting again. she is the jasmine. she is
the citrus. and she will blossom.
from the call of the wind,
a yellow polka dot dress fluttering
left to right, left to right, releasing
its aroma of jasmine & citrus
as if it were steaming from a fresh cup
in a japanese restaurant, the aroma
that wanders the halls of my mind
every summer-swept night. the lattice straw hat spiraling
up toward the ceiling. still, the jasmine & citrus
hugs the air in the vacant living room where
i lie down on the tethered couch, solemn. the long
pitch black locks curl smiles into my eyes—
onto my nose, even gracing my lips, one
by one, and i am drawn into the scent
embedded in each wind-kissed yellow polka dot, each
fiber of her lattice straw hat, each squiggle
of her long charcoal locks. i look down
at my thighs and once again see yellow
polka dots, they’ve become familiar. my mother slowly
approaches my acne-stamped forehead, dimples
piercing the pale symmetry of my cheeks
and, i don’t know why, how, i smile—the jasmine & citrus
wafting again. she is the jasmine. she is
the citrus. and she will blossom.
Katie Kim is a student attending Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. As a writer, she is particularly interested in poetry and realistic fiction. Her work has previously appeared in SWWIM, Connecticut River Review, Crashtest, and elsewhere. She is an alumna of the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference, the Juniper Institute for Young Writers, the Advanced Ellipsis Writing Workshop, and the Adroit Summer Mentorship Program. As well as creative writing, Katie enjoys visual art and playing the oboe.