Noses

Honor your nose, no matter

how misshapen it may be,

revel in a breath of air,

scent of honeysuckle,

magnolia blossoms and the

pheromones of your fragrant mate.

The eyes may be the

windows of the soul

but a protruberance

plunked in the middle

of your face reveals

the core of how you

think other's see you.

One can't help but regret

one's forebearer's tainted genes

which had no sense

of symmetry of size

designing one's probosicis

Even when a new babe's nose

seems to fit it's face,

noses have a way of growing

into features one laments.

Many noses dissapoint:

A clown without a nose is

no clown at all, and yet

that round red cherry

is not welcome on a child.

Who wants a bulbous honker

or one flattened like

a batter boxer

or hooked, aquilline,

curved like an eagle's beak

like Dicken's Fagan or a

Bedouin in Khartoum?

Forget about a shrunken pug,

a snout of pig

makes a head too big.

Wise yoga gurus teach

taking turns with each nostril,

knowing sacred Prana,

breath of life, can foster

longevity and well-being.

Milton P. Ehrlich