Playing Candyland in the Candy House

One would think it was a Hansel and Gretal dream, if theirs hadn’t

ended for the worse;

The “healthy stuff” were fig newtons and graham crackers

the large molasses cookies with sprinkled sugar on top

came after spaghetti dinners

Grandpa’s den always had ribbon candy around for months

stuck in clumps

there were jellybeans, he would take the forgone black ones

the red gumdrops were deceptive, that too had the taste of licorice

One year he bought cases of Necco wafers excited they were

still made, or rather unearthed from somewhere

Ice cream came after roast beef dinner

Grandma wouldn’t keep a slice of beef on her plate

instead she would pile up on steamed spinach

but she ended up taking so many bites of roast beef

that grandpa had a little more than half left

Vanilla ice cream topped with strawberries with a light frozen crust,

at times peaches and crème,

Grandma would always tell her childhood story of sticking her

finger in the jello that was supposed to be served after supper

needless to say she was still scarred because she went without.

Then there’s the famous chocolate pudding story when my mom

helped herself to my bowl that sat unclaimed the fridge.

Issues, I was left with issues, I’d say to this day.