Something rotten?
At first we think it’s foreign cheese,
then blockage in the drain,
a trophy brought in by the cat
or dog-mess from the lane.
Are the bananas turning black?
Is it neglected mold?
A vase of flowers overlooked
or shoes grown damp and old?
Perhaps it’s come in via the post
or morning paper’s ink:
I think we’re getting closer to
this somewhat iffy stink.
It is the news: it is the smell
of dodgy devious tricks,
the whiff of something going off
in modern politics.
D.A. Prince lives mainly in Leicestershire, UK. Aside from three full collections of poetry (all with HappenStance Press), she spends a regrettable amount of time hanging around the world of light verse. Her latest collection is The Bigger Picture (HappenStance Press, 2022).