mitti attar
       

the scent of first rain on stone
geosmin or petrichor

can be taken from ground near
a lake in Kannauj India after a monsoon

can be bottled and sold
dabbed behind one's ears

we're wired to detect it
in minuscule quantities

this odor we once needed
to find food in times of drought

now we drive to the market
buy Chilean apples in June

lamb from Australia
we order

and the next day Mongolian cashmere
is delivered in a plastic envelope by truck

still the smell of rain on dry earth
asks me if I could be every drop

that hits black earth or red rock
even construction debris

the smell asks me
what I am

not what I want

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Copyright © 2020 Natasha Sajé All rights reserved
from Sou'wester
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission