My mechanical nose
tabulates particles per
trillion, neutralizes
carcinogens and radio-
active isotopes, and
preps reports I’ll never
read. And I’m happy as
long as it keeps filtering
out everything except
gold, freshly fallen snow,
and canned mandarin
oranges. It detects radon
and hate sweat, but my
levels are well within
daily tolerances. As long
as it’s not too many days
in a row. And I do read
the reports, even though
I said I never do, even
though there’s nothing
I can do about the in-
formation. Because I’m
stranded here in self-
imposed isolation. And
I’m not happy. And I’ll
never be happy and
now I’m afraid to blow
my nose.