The Cork Sniffer – Henry Bladon

The sommelier lives
in a lead-lined flat
and dresses
in orange dungarees
on his day off.

He has an
orange umbrella
in his coat stand
for when it rains.

He goes to work
wearing orange underwear
beneath his uniform

and spends his evenings
sniffing the corks
of the wine bottles
ordered by ignorant diners.

About the contributor: Henry Bladon is based in Somerset in the UK. He is a writer of short fiction and poetry and teaches creative writing for therapeutic purposes. He has degrees in psychology and mental health policy, and a PhD in literature and creative writing. He frequently writes commentary about mental health issues and his literary work can be seen in O:JA&L, Tuck Magazine, Mercurial Stories, The Ekphrastic Review, and Spillwords Press, among other places.