avatarJ.D. Harms

Summary

"The Scent of Frailty" is a poem that metaphorically explores the predatory nature of life experiences that consume human vulnerability.

Abstract

The poem "The Scent of Frailty" by J.D. Harms, accompanied by an abstract painting photograph by Steve Johnson, delves into the metaphorical comparison of life's challenges to a carnivore's instinctual pursuit of its prey. It describes how life's experiences, represented as a carnivore, detect and devour the essence of human fragility. The poem portrays life as taking precious moments, symbolized by flesh, and turning them into a raw and visceral experience, as if savoring the salted carbon of existence. The narrative speaks of an absence that becomes a failure, leading to an olfactory metaphor for a tragic loss, which is personified as lurking in the balconies, observing life's drama as if it were a spectacle.

Opinions

  • The poem conveys a sense of inevitability about life's harshness, akin to a carnivore's instinctual hunt.
  • It suggests that life's beauty, symbolized by the "precious" flesh, is inextricably linked to its capacity for pain and loss.
  • The author seems to reflect on the idea that failure and absence are profound and impactful experiences, not just mere voids.
  • The metaphor of scent is used to emphasize the depth of emotional impact, implying that the memory of loss lingers like a pervasive odor.
  • The poem implies a critical view of life's spectators, suggesting that they are detached and perhaps indifferent to the struggles of others.

The Scent of Frailty

A Poem

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

Like the carnivore that knows what it smells buried in your head Taking flesh as if it was something precious a salted carbon experience dangling blood from the precipice of a life The nose enters this dream with all its charge backed up & now this absence terrible failure becomes an olfactory travesty lurking high there in the balconies as if this were a show

J.D. Harms 2020

Poetry
Image
Musings
Smell
Synaesthesia
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