Encounters

By Isabelle Sanderson

This poem is meant to capture the unfortunately timeless experience of girls who find themselves powerless and shamed by an attempt at romance. We can take our place in history by acknowledging these sometimes uncomfortable realities even when others refuse to do so.

Putrid and sour
at first the taste of morning 
breath generously spread 
over and inside her 
mouth.
The smell of vanilla 
shampoo melting scalding water. 
Slow and thick
hot air.
Nutmeg soap 
apple-rose body scrub 
cinnamon body polisher 
almond shaving cream. 
More vanilla 
something chocolatey
a tinge of ginger hair
oil deliriously sweet
hair spray saccharine hair
gel hands running
through strands of hair
so soft and so thin
running through fingers like water running through 
over and over
cascading down pink freckles
and pink acne.
The dedicated movements of a dark mascara brush 
and then
the smell of rain.

A cloud of vodka and urine. 
something sour, something savory sticky 
subway floor harsh
denim and canvas
blood
sweat
laundry detergent
gatorade, black tea, aftershave, burnt cheese and acidic tomatoes, gasoline.
Then again,
the smell of rain. A whiff
of coffee
of almond milk, oatmilk, 2% milk, cinnamon dust, chocolate powder, lemon tea, green matcha, clotted cream, thick jam, baked fruit, caster sugar.

The smell of cologne.

The jittering of legs.
The fidgeting in 
scratchy pockets blush 
spreads hot
across freckled cheeks. 
One hand
inching closer
across a cool granite table top 
desperate for
first
soft 
touch.

Instead suddenly 
something squishy 
slimy vanilla chapstick
acidic mint gum
bitter coffee
slimy mint and bitter acidic and slimy acidic and acidic acidic and bitter slime and 
slimy slimy
and cold damp hands
on burning skin
and burning cheeks
and still the oat milk and almond milk and cinnamon dust 
still the coffee
pungent
still the cold
damp bitter acidic slime
spreading
like tentacles. Limp hands

till the slime recedes
and the smell of cologne grows fainter. 
Replaced by rain
and salt water cooling burning cheeks. 
Something else too, something 
you can’t quite
Place.