Erica Goss

The Scent of Orange Blossoms

My father braked hard,
kicked the car door open,
and dancing, disappeared
into the orchard
yelling, do you smell them,
do you smell – and into my
freeway-leaded childhood
the scent of orange blossoms
wafted like a stranger’s
perfume.

Erica Goss is the Poet Laureate of Los Gatos, CA.

—first published in The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop, by Diane Lockward (Wind Publications, 2013)