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Marshall Gass Oct 2014
The smell of dettol permeates way down the street
even as I approach the  clinic in terror
death stalks every step and my pulse races
with the knowledge of impending doom.

Try as I might, to stay calm and in control, bugs don't think-
they eat their fill first
and talk with high temperatures and tantrums
coughs and splutters
chills and tingles and tantrums, probably knowing
that murderous pills on their way.

dettol has a distinct sensation, it matches sterile
spongy clean sop and maternity wards
yet I know if you smelt dettol in the deep woods
you would question every dark spot on a leaf
the bark the tree!  the wind and the root.
That's how it got associated with death.

I could never overcome that smell
at times it felt safe, at other times it felt like
alarm bells were ringing of an approaching enemy
facing a firing squad. How could they fire us
to the next world with a smell?
But that's what it always felt like. But today
I need to get my flu sorted out.
Dettol wont do the killing fields any good.

Its hard to have a love/hate relationship with a smell.
Dettol and Women! They are alike! That's it. Yeah.

Author Notes

Optional
© Marshall Gass. All rights reserved, 2 months ago

- See more at: http://allpoetry.com/poem/11613999-dettol-by-Marshall-Gass-noguest#sthash.J5CFBwXf.dpuf
f Mar 2018
over the last week i realised how many girls
don't even eat their lunches in the bathroom stalls
but sit and let the pipes keep them company

because food and empty stomachs built on empty hearts
never got along
but i found comfort in the soft sighs of the girl sitting in the next stall
tapping her foot along to nothing in particular

it scared me to chew too loudly on my food
so i'd wait until someone flushed a toilet or laughed really loudly
because they didn’t need to know i favoured
bathrooms to the loud silence of high school kids

i didn't particularly love the smell of dettol, the beige walls
or the idea that someday
my recollection of high school would consist
of just that

but to all the kids who destroyed my resolve
lied to me and told me i was translucent; i want
to tell you

that i like the sound of creaking pipes
better than the venom your sharp tongues spit
and i am so glad to say that you are only
a marker of a discovery
that there is so much more to this campus

so trust me when i say
when i’m old and wrinkled, a shell
of who i used to be
i won’t think of you
Atticus Apr 2023
‘You’re so wet for me baby’ they say
‘You’re not saying no’
Rinse repeat

It hurts I say
‘That’s normal ‘

It is what it is what it is what it is
My words stop

‘You’re so quiet’ they say

If I unzip my abused vocal chords I won’t be able to stop the noise
Keening screaming bursting like a dam

It’ll fill up my head
My ******* bone marrow
Where do I begin and where do you end flush against me

I am good at being quiet
I am good at being small
I am good at being needed
I am good at pleasing others
I am good at saying yes when I mean;
Stop
Get me out
You are choking me
I can’t breathe
There’s is blood on my teeth
On my hands

I held you after you assaulted me and you told me about what was plaguing your mind
So I comfort you
Rinse repeat
Tell you I’ve got you through gritted teeth

Is that so bad is that so bad I am needed so why is it so ******* bad

You fill my lungs acrid and burning
Inhale exhale
Inhale exhale
**** and ***** coat your lips like a gaudy lipgloss

Wash away the taste of you
Clean my teeth with dettol
Empty my veins clean the dirt out my veins
Trying to forget the way you coat my teeth

Your mouth is so good baby’ you say
It is bad honey and expired milk

It is not being touched since
It is not sleeping
It is wanting to be held but being terrified of the thought
where is that Dettol cream
to soothe these burns
tearing up my fragile skin

can’t handle these
children in conversations,
at the dinner table, like Pinot Noir
a stain on the embroidery,

what has happened to the Panadol
on the twelfth shelf of the walk in pantry
we’re all going to throw a *****

it’s all plasters, plastercine
playdough, dresses with cheap
cliché’ commercial slogans -

such a numb drum melody,
the top shelf
of every pantry is a *****,
might as well lend a little
helping hand, sponsor a child
charity
It was all faintly lit gloom
where her silhouette wouldn't betray
if she was sleeping or awake
amid the thick smell of disinfectant
the world debarred from the room.

I trust not one of you, she would say,
moving germs, a tribe of dirt,
that's what all of you are
.

Countless times she would dress and undress
drenching herself with dettol
changed linen time and again
and her only pursuit of happiness
was denying even the closest an access
to evade disease only she knew.

Others would find in her
a diseased mind.

When she died
men were hired to burn her
and the celsius ensured
she had a germ free passage
to the next world.
Bernardo Soares Sep 2013
It barely makes it bearable but bearable none the less

I only ever enjoyed you when we were in a mess

Needles on the draining board and dettol on your wrist

Meals before fainting slow empty bottles ******

Rolled up receipts to unroll

We're gonna need that dough

Amyl Nitrite. Woah!!

Orange stars and speckled doves

Tongues and lips and hands and legs and hips all pushing, grinding, grabbing trying to find a way inside you

Resonate when well oiled

Lucy was in the sky and I was in the palm of your hand, pixilated

Pipes, knives and bee hives for the honey in your tea

Crack on the pavement till we were like rag dolls

Bundles of flesh and bone with icky like indecision rummaging through drawers, ashtrays, pockets and old school bags to try to find something to keep the buzz alive and the birds at bay but more importantly to avoid sobriety with you

I think it's time to leave

I'll die for my love for you

But as for you my dear I'll see you next week when I pick up my things
Graham Nolan Mar 2012
There there my dear, it's only a scratch, another one for the collection.
Antiseptic wipe; Dettol 99.9% by the way.

Indignancy felt but ushered into a comfortable seat with nice back support and leather upholstery.
Tomato Ketchup.

"This is just wrong, this will not stand!!"  A deafening barely audible roar.
Look there is a fly banging its head against a glass window.  He repeats the action over and over.

A spark flies and it blinds.  Sweet immersion.  Embrace. Warmth. Comfort.
A bubble. Suspension.  The gaze into a lover's eyes....post ****** of course!

Cinema ticket stubs, bloated belly, extra butter.  The cold walk home.
Sorry, I have none on me or I left mine inside or look away.

Discrepency and some     thing dis    jointed.  Lack of understanding.  Inward spirals.
HellNoweWontgO, away they went in disgruntled silence.  Not a stain nor a mark on the beautiful tree lined streets.
Simon Soane Apr 2017
I'm a schizophrenic hypocrite,
thankfully not in a medical way
I don't have to pop pills everyday
to keep an essence of danger under control
and to stop my head doing backward flips and forward rolls
to curtail bad thoughts and contain OCD
wake up and think "what's happening to me?"
but sometimes i'm full of mazy bomb blasts
and crazy contrasts…
Now I love animals and their brilliant ways
they brighten the world and add happy to my days,
I could be walking to work in that new spring sun
and spy a cat on a wall and think “ohh, how fun”,
I’ll bound over with a skip and say “hey you, how’s it going,
although it’s bright today your purr has really got things glowing!”
Or in a Saturday beer garden when I’m kicking back with relax
a dog strolls in his owner and my attention is instantly rapt,
I’ll exclaim “ohh, is your pooch friendly, please may I give him a pet?”
If the guy answers in the affirmative I’ll proclaim “hey big doggy I’m so glad we’ve met,
you’re a lovely doggy aren’t you, look at your slobbering face
and the way you wag your tail I think it’s pretty ace!”.
Or I may be having a saunter round the park taking in some stupendous views
and see a stretch of water and decide to have a peruse,
as I get closer I think “oh I can’t believe my luck
look at that raft of lots of lovely ducks!”.
So I nip to the shop round the corner and buy a loaf of bread
and think “ohh you top paddling guys you’re gonna get real fed!”!
So I chuck plentiful crumbs in the water making sure they all get their fill
of some luscious Warburtons down their chomping bill.
I do love other creatures though not just the ones who go meow, woof and quack,
even the tiny ones who fur and feathers they lack;
I could watch a ladybird for ten minutes and be allured by it’s spots
and then be wary around those minuscule red mites that look like little dots,
ensuring that I always check before I sit on a summer wall
so my plonking down doesn’t squash them all.
Or if I’m walking home down a dark passage way on a rainy night
i’ll get my phone out and use it’s shiny light
to see if there are any snails that have come out from under a bush
so I can daintily skip around them and avoid that awful shell crush.
As for spiders and moths in the house I never **** them I always put them out
And then do a Usain Bolt stance in the living room with a “I love you insects” pout.
However one Thursday when I was off work on a day in lieu
and thought “ahh I’ll venture out as the sky is blue,
I can have a wander with some music and then go see Mum and Dad
but before I do all that there is a shower to be had.”
I stroll into the bathroom anticipating a lovely clean
but am greeted by a sight that is less than serene,
walking on the ceramics are about 14 microscopic flies,
I had to squint to view them, they were almost invisible to the naked eye.
I mused “hmm, how am I gonna solve this they are too flimsy to catch and put outside,
and what receptacle could I place them in to take on freedom’s ride?”
As I’m deciding what to do I see more of them coming out of a hole in the tile
and I say “look guys me you’re beginning to rile”,
then I glance some Dettol wipes lying next to my tooth brush
and in a instance obliterate the flies with a sweeping rush,
I chuck the death tissue in the bin and feel a swell of guilt,
“I thought of more understanding stuff I was surely built,
I got rid of them without compunction because they were disrupting my aqua blast
I hope this killing streak doesn’t last.”
Post shower I’m feeling better and believe my murderous bent has gone away far
pop my ear phones in, crank up the volume and saunter round to see Ma and Pa,
but it won’t just be Mum and Dad I’ll be pleased to see when my feet land on their welcome mat,
it will also be lovely Poppet the cat!
I like Poppet loads, she’s my whiskered friend
all my love to her I always send,
her wild meowing tones are one of my favourite sounds
it’s awesomely brill to have her around,
sometimes when I’m drunk her name slips off my tongue,
that’s how I know we defiantly belong,
I can be gleefully inebriated at a festival
and I’ll just say “Poppet!” and feel more happy full,
Pops Popsicle Poppet, I adore your tabby chest,
ahh Poppet, you’re simply the best!
I get to my parent’s house, call her and she comes running with that bounding feline whizz,
and I exclaim with joy, “ahh, there she is!”,
I give her lots of petting and start to feel all catty rich
but then I notice she seems to have a itch,
I say to my Mum, “is Poppet okay, she looks like she’s having too much of a scratch?”
she replies,  “yeah but I think she has fleas that are more than beginning to hatch”,
she continues, “I’ve got some flea treatment though so those little vamps we can quickly dismiss”,
I reply, “nar, it’s okay Mum, I’ll handle this.”
I say to the fleas, “come here guys” and take them and Poppet to one side,
and remark “look today I’ve already committed insecticide
and I really don’t want to do it again but you’re putting Poppet the cat in duress
and she seems distracted rather than purring in my soft strokey caress,
and I don’t want to deliver a ****** bomb of flea killing pollution,
it’s much better to find an amicable solution,
so if you could just jump off her now and end your inhibiting lease
I promise I won’t hover you up I’ll just let you go in peace.”
I give them a few minutes to mull it over but then see Poppet frantically biting her thigh,
“now that is ****** it, no more Mr Nice Guy!
right you little Dracula *****, you’re about to find out what really *****,
it’s being on the receiving end of my “you’re perturbing Poppet” wrath,
you’re about to take a real long Frontline bath!”
Without remorse I dowse them up and that is that,
“bye bye you tiny ******* Vlad The Impaler *****!”  
See I love all the animals, I really have to say,
just don’t cross me on a Thursday,
oh, and I eat meat way more than a bit,
i’m a schizophrenic hypocrite.
did I live in that place?
was there a time when we were joined?

in that photo in my mind
you are caught in motion
you, straining towards me,
arms outstretched,
a cypress, leaning,
waiting

did my heart ever throb
to the staircase of your laugh?

in that place we have abandoned
our children never hear
the sound of their laughter
echo up the hall

their feet never tamp
the grass down in that garden
we had planned,
where now the lilies lie,
lush in some places,
stark in others

no-one lives here now,
in this place, overrun
with hospital smells of Dettol
and creaking floorboards

“I’m sorry to have come here,”
I tell my lagging shadow

the broken sky
lets go and finally cries
down on this
long-abandoned place



Bonaventure Saptel
S M Aug 2016
In the car
you felt awkward with
bobbed veiled eyes,
squished in,
a neighbour insisted lift.
Their Language was
Course
Throaty
chiming with gold.

You had rationed bread then,
it was women’s only
and when one was
touched askew,
they took her away
from there.

That time of servitude,
5am Dettol, peeling skin,
when your man would
be home waiting to
kiss them Better.
You were glowing and
not alone.

You lent me a book,
frayed edges with
bi-carb knowledge &
I was surprised
that it worked,
as I didn’t know much.

A cache of
pyramid pictures,
Wet mirrored smiles
as they looked down upon us,
with the man reflected
gone
but
kindly enough.

Dragging your feet,
talk time for hours, when
your upward chin
would float above your
throbbing knees,
no grievances at all.

Decibels rose
like the formidable
stone wall
that was still protecting you,
and the laughter you brought
to me was…
thank you.

My practice called and so
I beckoned,
but you whispered
to me somewhere -
with a single
guidance,
to come back.

A sunny day,
a set of white teeth,
was all you could see,
morphine soaked back
against green
struck trees.

Naïve glass
between you and I,
a rose card
with plush material
on the front,
it was
the most expensive one.

Blame that left me
misaligned against a rail,
peeking through
the parts that felt,
coldly
wrong.

Licked and waiting,
useless,
I didn’t know how
to release your
generous sentient
from mine.

Graceful and soft without
life's judgement,
it has locked within me
and remains,
like a warm
forgiving light.
I am sorry I never said goodbye to you. I hope you can accept this from me.
Salmabanu Hatim Mar 2020
For my birthday he gifted me:
Several packets of salt to gargle my throat,
Rolls of tissue paper,
Vitamin C  tablets
Sanitizers,
Masks and dettol sprays.
I love you tons and tons,
Be safe for me.
16/3/2020
Poetic T Sep 2020
I'm Covid safe,
                when I *******.

I use a  Dettol Wet wipe,
  kills 99.6% cheese...


And 99.99% Covid

   stay safe you wankers...
Lorna Lornelia Jan 2022
Words - they flow and they ebb,
they reverberate eternally in this brain chamber of mine.

They echo, they roll, they slide, they rhyme and most of the  time they're nonsensical like these lines.

They're twisted and convoluted,
Ominous and auspicious.
Silly and simple.
Rhythmic and staccato.
They certainly have a life of their own.

One moment they're infused with scents of vanilla ,
The next moment it's dettol mixed with ***** of a gorilla. 

Sometimes they'll roll sweetly like cinnamon and baked apple pies.
Other times they'll dangle daintly like merrigolds and ponsiettas.

Then there are moments when they will leave me awake with the ultimate conundrum like am I charmed or beguiled?

What can I say?
A hodgepodge of words praying to be thought of; unforgot.
They sing me to sleep  like a sweetly sung lullaby .
Yenson Sep 2018
The ******* of plenty has time for romancing absurdities
Mother Parliament hugs and soothes and nannies don't rest
Mummy P has the wet rag and the dettol for glazed brusies
Off you run eternal kids to life playgrounds for there's no test

Look Free milk for you drink and grow like giraffes in zoos
Jason that's not your father he's just a man I met at the pub
Your dad's not working but he gets a free weekly cheque too
School is free but you really don't have to go just sit in a hub

Do whatever you like and listen to nobody cause you're free
Coppers are pounces so give them no respect pay them no mind
Shaun and Alan mugged a Pensioner now on a spending spree
No worries mate they'll just rob again to pay the Court's fine

Can't read and write properly so what's the effing bother man
You'll still get your check mate..haha after-all it's not your fault
Did you beg them you want to learn when it's better to get a tan
My mate's father JC can teach us how to pick and unlock a vault

There's chinese and Kebab, Pizza, Pies, Fried Chicken and Chips
Can never go hungry Parliament provides everything you need
Rent paid an Free Medical care when you fight and bust your lips
I reckon they should pay us when we poke ***** Joan and Coleed

We're bored, Nannies is too busy running around to play with us
Lets go rob some more and vandalize and get rat arsed and ******
We can commit crimes and give those Coppers some work to suss
Or look for a lone small Asian man and batter him with our fists

Poor Mother Parliament work day and night and blames herself
If only there's enough money all these bad attitudes will go away
My kidadults will be good model citizens with prizes on shelves
And immigrants can run the ****** country while I ******* !!
When too much is too little
Indulgent,  arrogance,  entitlement,   demotivation, madness,  spoilt kidsadults.

— The End —