The smell of gas

I smell it almost everyday, but not today.

It was the smell of red beans and
Chicken with a little bit of bacon
I never knew that smell would haunt
Me for the rest of my life.

So I sat down to enjoy those red beans, but for some reason I couldn’t
That beautiful smell of soul food had
Changed as fast as dominos could fall
That day I never knew what was about to become a reality

Those red beans would never be the same
That taste and smell would never be the same and  it will continuously
Haunt me for eternity

I dread smelling soul food
It makes my stomach churn with butterflies
I start to anticipate the conversations behind the dinner plates
Laughter was on everyone’s faces except mine
I knew that those red beans would not taste as I’d like them to
My grandmother didn’t make them
And she will never make them again
And from that day on I vow not to eat a single plate of red beans