The sun on its descent
Bade the flowers
To unfurl their royal capes
And through the disappearing light
Shafts of fragrance beamed
Casting a shine unseen but felt

Through the graying scene
A lad waded through barbed thickets
Fighting off the heavy shove of branches
Tracking the delightful draft
A frivolous breeze pirouetted
There he sat waylaid and discomfited

It is the fragrance of laurels, fame and riches
How familiar it was to a learned nose
An opulence that conjured images of palaces
Of harem rooms and reclining odalisques
Magical concoctions brewed by apothecaries
For fortunes paid by potentates and kings

It is an evanescent grace that he desired
How vainly he pursued the elusive prize
Through uncharted courses and perilous treks
Braving other men's hostility and nature's whims
But don't we all, stake a princely price, going after
Holy Grails and sailing to portless Odyssies

Eddie Roa

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sweet-smell-of-success-2/