Sniffers (Fun Poem 162) Poem by David Harris

Our nose is a precision tool
for detecting smells around us.
Chefs normally smell the food
before tasting it.
Wine experts smell a glass of wine
before taking a sip.
Each judge the aromas
produced by different foods and grapes.

However there are other sniffers
of a more clandestine temperament
that have fine-tuned their noses.
There is the carpet sniffer
who when they enter work
sniff the carpets around them
for any obnoxious smells.

Recently I have come across a bin sniffer
who sticks their head in a bin
sniffing out the fragment odours
that the majority of us will not detect.
The bin sniffer makes you smile
as any rubbish bin will eventually smell.

These sniffers fine tune their sense of smell
to be able to detect each component
that might be producing the offending odour.
So beware my friends
the sniffers are all around us
with their nose in the carpet or in a bin.


30 November 2014

(Author's Note: this piece was inspired
by people I have met over the years.)