Nose News

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' kitchen (photo compliments of Suzanne of At Home with the Farmer's Wife. Read about her visit to Rawlings' home)

Nose News

by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I could smell my neighbor’s gingerbread,
Cooling on a shelf.
Its fragrance put it in my head
To bake a pan myself.

The morning breeze blew down the street
My gingerbread’s spiced whiff.
My other neighbor stayed her feet,
And paused a bit to sniff.

Before the noon-day whistle blew
I saw her baking there—
And soon the scent of ginger grew,
Delicious on the air.

That evening all the men-folks said:
“Nose news must travel fast.
We could smell fresh gingerbread
In every house we passed!”