smell #810

compulsively painting new skin
on old beach house pickets and rails

obsessively scrubbing new paint and old skin
(both unwanted)
off my own fingers and nails

citrus squeeze
of soap foam
into hands

citrus squeeze
of soap smell
into nose

seven summers
ago...i go
into mind

i mow
i mow until
wilted grass
grows on sweat river banks
between leg hair reeds

not the scent of grass
(just cut)
not my odor
nor gasoline
fuming
enclosed in my truck

but rather
another liquid
in another reservoir
in my 80's Jimmy of 90's
unites it's era
to this one...

Fierce Melon Gatorade
contains some same
artificial flavor-aid
as Dawn Direct Foam
Citrus Kick soap

the connection recognized
i dry my hands
and return to
outside labor
of hands
to same summer sun
seven years further burned
into eyes
into nose
into mind

i have grown old
but i
(like memories)
cannot escape
the remembrance rays

what will i find today
forcing sweaty paint and
grass-stained hands
into ice
into chest?