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Scents of Bermuda: Or, All De Smells That Accosted My Nose One Day When Ahs Ridin My Bike From My Momma’s House on Norf Shore To My House in Smif’s Parish

vermillion nasturtiums
barbecued meat
mouldy brown loquat leaves
salt sharp ocean spray
rain rising from asphalt roads
sweet bloated decay scent of two-day-old toad
dried leaf scent of flat, two-week-old dead toad
vomity, mangled scent of roadkill cat – length of time dead unknown
crushed lemongrass
overcooked tourist flesh sizzling in the noonday sun
barnacled, rusted boats off Devonshire Dock
my neighbour’s garbage ripped open by feral cats
overpriced perfume – from Trimingham’s, I think
‘mountain fresh’ detergent scent of laundry drying on the line
frying fish and sun-ripened fish guts
Baygon and stale beer
overripe cherries
Limacol and sweat
diesel fuel leaking from a moored motorboat
smoky fire with just a hint of cedar
more salty ocean spray
the cool, slimy, harmless scent
of three perfectly healthy toads sitting on my front porch
cooling, oven-fresh banana bread
and pawpaws… ripe to bursting

Loquat: a small orangey-yellow fruit that grows wild in Bermuda

Baygon: a potent insecticide used to kill giant flying roaches

Limacol: a zesty scented toilet lotion used to refresh in the summer heat

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