Smelled Like Death Poem by Eric Cockrell

i used to think
old people smelled like death...
but now i think maybe
they smell like life;
life lived, life experienced,
life given, life worn...
or maybe like a bridge
that hundreds have walked on,
or the worn out shoes
of the walkers...
or maybe like the oak tree,
just cut down,
then left to age and dry out
for the fire...
or maybe like memories
of touch and taste...
or maybe like a riverbed now dry,
waiting on the rain!

it's a smell
i cant wash off!