Thursday, May 28, 2009

Petrichor

I gave my husband a word the other day. He crafted a poem around it. It is a cool word and a lovely poem. The word is Petrichor. From Wikipedia: Petrichor (from Greek petros, "stone" + ichor "blood of the gods") is the word for the scent of rain on dry earth. I wonder if there is a word for the scent of wet dog after a good rain?

My muse murmurs a word in the dark,

a bug in my ear, caught crawling

through pages, or snatched

from the airwaves, scribbled on scrap,

an atomic surprise just lying in wait.

She's saved it for a stormy night,

or a morning like this,

where the black blood of gods

runs roughshod through gutters,

out to the garden,

down the windows in rivers,

over-topping the birdbath,

to quench the parched maples.

Later, after sunrise, I'll be tempted, I know,

to walk barefoot and shirtless,

take a roll through the grass

while steaming from the cup

that I leave on the porch,

a redolent french roast,

plays counterpoint perfume

to a mushrooming

petrichor mélange.

© 2009 Dan Collins



4 comments:

corax said...

I guess it would have to be canichor, from the canis root + ichor. There. I said it.

And please pay my respects to your husband, who has as fine a way with words as you do with color.

artpaw said...

lol ... i love it! Canichor: the scent of wet dog after a rain. Sounds good to me.

The Wildwood said...

Beautiful and romantic in so many ways for you!

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

Beautiful!! Beautiful!!

It's great to see your Scottie in the pic.

Lynn