English Leather And Hai Karate Poem by Sonny Rainshine

They were the masculine scents of choice
in the 1960s, when the regulation white shirts
and diagonal stripe ties
that proliferated in the office
began to blossom into paisleys,
plaids, and those miniature daisy patterns.

I preferred the exotic aroma
of English Leather Lime, picturing myself in jodphers,
leaping over hedges in hot pursuit of a fox
or some other beleaguered creature,
confused by the odor of musk and citrus.

Hai Karate conjured up white robes,
black belts and a whole lot of shrieking.
What if I get asked to chop up some planks
with my bare hands!

Curiously, I often look
among the rows and rows of men’s toiletries
at the drugstore to see if these
products are still available.
I miss them and their provocative labels.
Haiiiiiiiiii! Umph!