Linoleum Days

According to my handy-dandy dictionary, "linoleum" comes from the Latin linum (flax) plus oleum (oil), and describes "a smooth, washable floor covering, formerly much used, esp. in kitchens."

That established, class, let us proceed.

In the home in which I grew up, linoleum reigned, not only in the kitchen, but the dining room ... and the living room. Maybe in the bedroom, too.

It was a regal floor covering. Or so I thought then. Actually, I still do.

But let's get right to the poem:

LINOLEUM DAYS

Linoleum was forever,

or so it seemed,

lying regally there

with its smell of new

filling the room,

cupped at the ends

from having lain

in a tight coil,

waiting patiently

at the general store

until someone

purchased its freedom,

took it home

and unscrolled it,

where it still lies

in the living room

of my mind,

so fresh, aromatic,

I hardly dare think

of walking on it.

© 1997

(originally published in Capper's)

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Today's word: aromatic