Candy Store

Barrel upon barrel of color and texture,

Promise of sweet satisfaction.

Surprising tug on childhood memory.

Cream-centered caramels my father

would offer for love, in place of a kiss.

Canada Mints, pink and white,

Basic to my grandmother's table as milk and bread.

Hershey Miniatures my brothers

would find in their lunch boxes, but were withheld from me.

 

I close my eyes and remember the feel of them on the tongue,

Molasses Mary Janes wrapped in yellow and red.

Squirrel Nut Zippers, a name that is still a mystery.

Cherry Red Tootsie Pops, sacrificed occasionally for

the tart experience of lime and green.

Necco Wafer attempts to find someone, anyone,

To take the black, licorice circles off my hands.

 

Sour Balls and Jawbreakers, made dangerous

by maternal warnings against choking;

Eaten carefully, lest they cause

an early descent to the grave.

Bazooka Bubble Gum wrappers;

comic strips, never understood.

A shrug of the shoulders and a pop

of the pink, sugar-coated square into the mouth.

 

I watch as she stands before the barrels

And with careful deliberation, makes her selections.

Which of these lovely, seductive confections form

the sweet memories of her past?

More modern renditions of forbidden fruit,

Gummi Bears and Worms,

Ingenious Blow Pops and

Princess Leia Pez Dispensers.

I wonder as she spies the Sour Balls and Jawbreakers

Does she think them dangerous

because of my warnings of choking

and an early descent to the grave?

 

I indulge in these side-long glances of her,

when she is unaware; awestruck by the paradox of her being.

Sweetness and tenderness, strength and confidence, at once.

Beautiful girl who is no longer a girl.

It hurts to look at you.

Love so fierce, I know the heart of Mother Bear.

 

I am shaken from my reverie.

The call of the candy barrel rouses me.

I prolong the decadent joy of choice;

Bits-O-Honey and Butterscotch,

Red and white swirls of peppermint,

holding the promise of my sneeze.

Tangy taffies; menacing tugs on the

silver in my mouth.

I unwrap a cream-centered caramel

and return to the memory of my father. 

And feel his kiss.