Robert Charles Howard (26 DEC 1943 / Wyandotte MI)

poet Robert Charles Howard
What do you think this poem is about?

As Plain as the Nose

A nose is such a ruddy hoot -
sloping south between the eyes
with tubes flared out
like a hungry Hoover
sucking in fuel
for the old bio-furnace.

Ah, the multi-faceted proboscus!
You can turn yours up,
look down it on a twit,
blow it out
or stick it in where no one wants.

And we can thank our noses
when we linger for a spell
to savor a fragrant rose
or flee the traces of a polecat’s rage.

Yet, for me, the finest part of having one
is cutting loose a mega-sneeze -
that blows off like Vesuvius -
while everyone tenders blessings!

Yes indeed,
of all the things a nose can do,
nothing beats it when it sneezes.

<I>December, 2008</I>

Robert Charles Howard
Submitted: Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Edited: Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Comments about this poem (As Plain as the Nose by Robert Charles Howard )

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  • Adedolapo Olisa (7/21/2009 4:26:00 AM)

    This shows the hilarious topic that a poem can have

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  • Kesav Easwaran (4/18/2009 5:06:00 AM)

    humorous write...beautiful in its presentation and word selection...good work, Robert...i liked...10

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  • Alison Cassidy (1/12/2009 1:42:00 AM)

    Robert, I only found this because I read your No 1 poem. So thanks for the prompt. And for this poem which is quite a hoot! What is it about males and noses? My beloved attends to his at bedtime as a sort of dogged and determined ritual (perhaps it is the history of sinus that prompts the intensity of his snorting and heaving and blowing) . I must admit during the early heady days of our intimacy I was somewhat startled by the fz of his hooting, but these days, it's just part of living with the one I love. You have taken a plain sort of subject and produced a work of wit and delightful quirkiness. Thanks. Love, Allie ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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  • Meggie Gultiano (12/23/2008 3:16:00 PM)

    you made me smile..my nose is flat..now i realized its very important use..LOL.thanks for this treat.
    Hugs,
    Meggie

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  • Ron Flowers (12/19/2008 10:33:00 PM)

    I enjoyed the chuckles this one caused.

    Regards
    Ron

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  • Samanyan Lakshminarayanan (12/14/2008 1:20:00 AM)

    tha was real good humour- thanks for sharing

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  • Naidz Ladia (12/13/2008 11:07:00 PM)

    simile....NICE FIGURE OF SPEECH.., , , but the truth....i only have one purpose, , , only for breathing..

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  • Ben Gieske (12/13/2008 8:47:00 AM)

    Well done. Thanks for the humor. I have to be careful when blowing my nose, in case someone nearby is eating. One thing I remember about my father is the way he blew his nose. For some reason, I can't really remember anyone's sneeze in particular. I like all the descriptive adjectives you employed.

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