Married Senses

Scent.

To me, smells have a certain color. Some of them a wonderful blend of colors, others singular. Each smell has a different shade: chocolate, black, white, red, and green. And these wonderful smells, these descriptive smells, they make sense to me.

When I smell the freshness of snow, I smell the color white. It’s pure, clean. And cold. In a storm, the white turns an absolute white, with no hints of other colors. It is an empty color.

When I take a whiff of rain, the smell is the soft color of gunmetal blue. Sharp and clear, with a hint of violence. And when it storms, the gunmetal gets hints of neon grey.

The smell of wood chips. God, the smell of wood chips, is the soft color of tan. Sweet and somewhat savory, decadent even in various tones. With different chips, there are different scents. Cedar is a beige scent, while pine is a maroon. Oak is a dark brown similar to milk chocolate, and maple is a sweet, soft gold.

The smell of grass. It is a distinct shade of green. Vibrant and tangy, it is the green of easter baskets. When it is mowed down, trimmed to a uniform state, the green is viscous. Like the color of cartoon ectoplasm.

The smell of autumn is the wonderous whirlpool of various golds. Earthy, sweet, and a hint of mystery, the smell of gold and amber and auburn burns and wafts in wonderful patterns that I can get lost in.

Cinnamon is a dark red. Cinnamon is cinnamon color, dark, alluring, and a bit exotic. It’s the smell of cold nights, curled with a blanket and a book. It is the smell of warmth.

The rain. Petrichor. Now that is an interesting array of colors. There are hints of green, and gunmetal blue, along with the darkest brown scent of earth. All mixed together with a soft, dove grey. The grey smell is subtle, but it clings into the air when the rest fade back into their scents and separate colors. I can get lost in the kaleidoscope of muted colors.

The smell of water. The smell of water changes its color. At room temperature, filtered, it holds the color known as aquamarine. When it is iced and cold, the color is that of the underside of a glacier. When it is warm, it is the brilliant color turquoise. Sparkling water has the color light blue with hints of glitter. Mineral waters taste like the color of the river, with a hint of bitter yellow.

Let me tell you about the smell called cabbage. It is a peculiar green, a mottled, grey-tinged green. It is a color shared with brussel sprouts and asparagus. I don't like this color. It smells awful.

Spinach is also a type of green, a rich emerald with an earthy brown undertone. A color that is shared with avocados.

Lettuce, no matter the kind, holds a pale green that is more of a sage color. Pale and gentle. Sometimes there is the emerald thrown in. With kale, they get dark bruise purple.

Now purple. That is a peculiar color. The rich, basic purple found on all color wheels is the flavor Grape Kool-Aid. And that doesn’t even taste like grape. I cannot describe it as anything else but purple. And apparently, it makes sense to others. At least with this color. And smell.

But there are different shades of purple.

The smell of true grapes is a soft purple, subtle, with a hint of pinks and greens. Concord smells like the dark midnight purple found in the night sky. Green grapes are a pale, pale purple that is nearly white, but with streaks of glass bottle green. The red grapes are a purple that leans a bit closer to red, but it still counts as purple.

Many expect oranges to be orange. While that is true...sometimes. Different oranges have different colors. Naval oranges are a bright orange, veiny grey and dark pink. Tangerines are a softer orange, with a hint of pink. Blood oranges are dark, an orange so dark it could be called burnt.

But orange is not just for oranges.

It is the smell of carrots, slow cooking in a crock pot. It is a mustier smell when paired with pumpkin, and not the pumpkin spice bullshit. Carrots are a light orange with hints of brown, while pumpkins are a vibrant orange with brown and grass green. It is the smell of cider, earth tan with red and orange and the tiniest hints of electric red.

Yellow is interesting. Very interesting.

Yellow smells like lemons, sharp and acidic. But a pale, pastel yellow is the smell of creams. Some paler, some darker, but all a pastel. The warm sunlight smells, too! It is the smell of filtered gold, with the hints of powder blue and clear.

And then there is the smell of black. Black is a heavy smell, it smells of wood rot, or licorice. It smells of coal, of something musty like mushrooms. It smells damp, and dank. No matter the shade, the smell of black is lingering.

I can go on and on and on about the many smells that have a color. I can go on and on about the smells that do not have colors! But smells are strong. Smells are beautiful.

Tell me, curious reader....

What do you smell?