Now Note: the smell of before

Today it was the smell of sunscreen
that stopped me:
not on my skin,
but from someone walking by.

Just like that,
I was back in a memory
I hadn’t visited in years.
A beach towel,
a magazine,
the sun not yet too hot.

It’s strange how scent works.
How it opens doors without asking,
and reminds you who you’ve been
without needing you to go anywhere.