Words have the power to move us, to evoke emotion, summon memories, inspire and entertain. Of course, fragrance has the same effect. It’s fitting during National Poetry Month that we unite Scentsy’s love of fragrance with our fondness for the written word.
Poems and fragrances can be love letters, tell stories or just revel in simple beauty. Poets often describe fragrance to express sentiment or set a tone.
“There is nothing unnecessary in a good fragrance, just as there are no fillers in a poem,” said famed parfumier Ramón Monegal. “If you know what you want to say with a fragrance and which values you would like to convey, you know too which essences to choose.”
Like Monegal’s creations, Scentsy fragrances aren’t a single note. Rather, they are complex creations carefully curated to set a mood, bring joy or relax mind and body. So, join us in the annual celebration of poetry. Turn on your favorite Scentsy Warmer, choose a fragrance that stirs your soul and immerse yourself in the meter and meaning of these poems:
The Persistence of Scent
Cindy Williams Gutiérrez
Mother, you will persist in fragrances—
the nectar-scent of carrots, pineapple, pecans
baking in a two-layer cake. I will shorten
my mornings into hours of praise.
More than alchemy, fresh cilantro—
in pungent handfuls—will be sautéed with garlic,
onions, tomatoes. And like magic, beans
will turn into savories in my ordinary kitchen.
And the aroma of lilies will not be resisted.
I will plant tigers, stars, Easters, cannas, callas.
The rain on their talcum will conjure you—
your skin this satiny scent—
here, on the porch swing, just after a bath.
I will sprinkle lily petals on my pond,
dip my hand in this holy water,
rub your silk into my fingers.
But it is the tang of the sea that will return
your salt to soothe my wound. Here in this watery
womb of the earth—this place you love only
from a distance since you never learned to swim—
here I will stop holding my breath, inhale the sting.
Among The Hills, Prelude [excerpt]
John Greenleaf Whittier
Through the open door
A drowsy smell of flowers-gray heliotrope,
And white sweet clover, and shy mignonette—
Comes faintly in, clover, and silent a chorus lends
To the pervading symphony of peace.
One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII
(I don’t love you as if you were a rose)
Pablo Neruda
I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries
the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,
and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
except in this form in which I am not nor are you,
so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,
so close that your eyes close with my dreams.*
*Click the link on the title to read it in Spanish.
There are so many more ways to recognize National Poetry Month, established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. Find poetry readings near you or explore more ways to celebrate.
Share your favorite poem about fragrance below or post it on social media with #NationalPoetryMonth and #Scentsy.
