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The Smell of Smoke
Posted on September 6, 2003 in Book of Days
Note: This is part of a series based on exercises from A Writer’s Book of Days. It’s something of a rebellion against the Friday Five and similar tupperware content memes.
Today’s topic: Write about a fragrance.
Under the arched live oaks of Trabuco Canyon Road, I caught the scent for a moment. Not sweet, not sour, not bitter. The odor of smoke. I thought of it as a flurry of parallelograms, shapes like the pig’s ear we bought for the cats to chew on. And tinted orange.
When I got home and thought about it, I realized that I saw no orange, no flame or side of smokehouse meat. The light I sniffed it in was deep bluish turquoise. Why did it have to be “orange”? I wondered. Why not blue? Why not indigo?
Want to participate? First either get yourself a copy of A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves or read these guidelines. Then either check in to see what the prompt for the day is or read along in the book.
Tomorrow’ topic/prompt: Write about a place you long for.
