Nose Can Do

My nose knows all sorts.

My nose knows roses and toes

before my eyes spy them.

(This knowing about toes

is one of the nose’s woes.)

My nose knows

because it’s composed of two small Os

that don’t close.

My nose knows more than my elbows

but less than a rhino’s nose,

which is fine, I suppose.

My nose knows quite enough.

Unless it’s full of stuff

and needs a blow

in which case

my nose knows nothing at all

and may as well be a potato with a couple of holes drilled in it.

But let’s not get bogged down in this.

My nose knows what it knows.

© Kate Wakeling, from Cloud Soup, The Emma Press, 2021