When I was a child,

playing in the backyard

the air smelled of cookies

from the factory to the east

I thought of tiny Keebler elves hard at work

 

I never thought to ask

if the elves received benefits,

PTO, or if they were unionized

 

I was a child then

all I could smell was the sweetness

of chocolate chips heavy

in the muggy Virginia heat

 

Until the winds shifted course,

and the confectionary incense rescinded,

voided by a swift, sour

olfactory dissonance

sweeping in, wretchedly,

from the nearby landfill

 

This early lesson

in impermanence

demonstrated acutely

that life is bittersweet