The First Time I Smelled Cologne
Winner - The Booksie 2018 Poetry Contest
Poem by: Faith Neece
Reads: 7641 | Likes: 43 | Shelves: 10 | Comments: 11
My school hosted a party
for the students whose work
was entered in our high school literary magazine.
I read my poem
out loud for the first time.
It was there my English teacher told me,
You’re such a good writer.
I’m so proud of you.
And he hugged me
a little too long
to be platonic,
my chest pressed
tightly against his.
I walked home in the dark
with questions,
the leftover vegetable tray in my hands,
the poetry tucked under my arm,
the scent of cologne
unfamiliar and unwanted
on my neck.
Submitted: July 12, 2018
© Copyright 2023 Faith Neece. All rights reserved.
Comments
Congratulations on becoming a finalist. :-)
Congrats on your win!!! Yay. So happy for you. This is a great poem and touches on some very socially sensitive material.
Mon, November 26th, 2018 2:38am
Thank you, everyone! I’m truly honored.
Tue, November 27th, 2018 4:00am
Congratulations on your winning poem, Faith. It is a concise but compelling piece, one that actually made my skin crawl. Very well done!
Wed, November 28th, 2018 7:56pm
Wonderful! And congrats on you winning the contest
Fri, November 30th, 2018 3:54pm
Congratulations. Well structured, and sends accross the message with just the right amount of emotions for what i believe you're trying to convey.
I'm generally more of a rhyme monkey myself.
Enjoy the rewards ;).
Also, i'm interested in your opinion on my poem "The black rose within" I believe i should have used that one for the competition.
Keep up the good work!
What a twist. I initially thought this was gonna be a love poem but, you were able to clearly get your message trough. Anyways good job I really like this.
Sat, December 8th, 2018 3:43am
What a twist. I initially thought this was gonna be a love poem but, you were able to clearly get your message trough. Anyways good job I really like this. :)
Sat, December 8th, 2018 3:44am
I feel like I just ate a bunch of dry toasted bread in a dark kitchen with no light switch and I'm fumbling around trying to get a glass of water. Contests are made for winners not writers so don't take any thing to heart and write because your soul bleeds the ink that writes your words.
Thu, February 7th, 2019 6:23am
This poem is a powerful piece of writing. You neither dressed it up or down; you simply told it straight and perfectly. Nicely done!
Sun, October 18th, 2020 8:18pmFacebook Comments
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Matthew D. Hay (Tangible Word)
Dark, albeit interesting - you covered an important social issue in a subtle way, which is wonderfully refreshing. This is by far the most compelling poem in the six-selected finalists, which is proof yet again of Booksie's preference for light, flimsy, unintelligent, digestible, and watered-down prose/poetry. Having been on here since 2011, and having seen my fair share of sycophantic praise - as well as picking up some well-deserved cynical bitterness - please note that I sincerely enjoyed this poem, as I enjoy very little on this site and am not afraid to say so.
Sun, November 18th, 2018 10:27pm