Time Travel & Volatilization Poem by Douglas Scotney

I say, Johnny, if Dr Who
had confided to the Jamie Oliver of Ancient Greece,
'J.O., I enjoy dabbing scented oils onto hot bulbs, '
we might be dabbing scented oils onto hot onions to this day.

Sure, ma, 'cause 'bolbos' was 'onion' in Greece;
but what's with the silent 'c' in 'scent'?

Back in the day,
they decided we needed more than 'odour' and 'smell'
for that certain je ne sais quoi.
They went to the Latin for 'to feel', 'sentire'.
'Sent' was already taken, dear:
that's why there's a silent c
in between the 's' and the 'e'.