A Poem a Day 2015 (38): The smell of sour

Another one written for JD Mader's 2minutesgo Friday challenge on his blog. I took 'The smell of sour' from his first story as a prompt. Cheers :)

The smell of sour

She’d smelt it all her life,

the rusted scent

of strewn dust,

making it all melt.

This stench lifted,

curling like old paint,

wet to the touch,

bitter to taste.

It followed her

in a cloud of waste,

this reminder of old.

When it sounded,

this ancient bell,

the heady mariner

came carrying his shroud,

bereft of any knowledge

of its meaning.

In silence he drifted

into the outer realms

where the dead pound

ageless and unborn,

their endless ache.

He lies without

breath or word,

as silent as the sea

turned sour.

copyright Vickie Johnstone