SWEETS
by Bryan Borland
She was never one
for fancy candies.
Boxes of chocolates
failed to tempt her,
as she never knew what was contained
behind the sweetened outer layer,
what sensations
would flood her mouth.
Instead she preferred
freshly-baked cookies,
hot from the oven,
perfectly-shaped beauties
that would burn her tongue,
or days later,
warmed from ten seconds
in the microwave
(artificial warmth, that is,
home reheated,
her tongue could not tell
the difference).
It was the same
with men.
She loved them
if she knew
where they stood,
nevermind
if they stood
on her fingers.
The ones who might
respect her,
she didn’t bother herself with.
At least with the ones she chose,
she knew
how they’d hurt.
© Bryan Borland
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I love the biographical nature of this poem Bryan…and reading, it flows very well…nice compression of the narrative…best, Darren
Perfect. I love it. We all know people like this as well.
At least with the ones she chose,
she knew
how they’d hurt.
I like the enigmatic ending~ how it feels when they hurt her or alternatively, how she hurts them. When a woman has been hurt so many times, she grows hard. It takes a special kind of magic to crumble such hard earned armour.
The writers voice is distainful of this woman, making us consider all the reasons of why this could possibly be. An interesting read.
Bee.
Why do girls love sweets and chocolates. You are a true poet….Keep it up.
Very nice. I agree with the above comment, I like the narrator’s tone. It puts a new twist to a (sadly) common topic.
Bryan, this was a good one and one that produced some thought-provoking comments. For me, this poem is not so much a (negative) commentary as a statement of truth–that the speaker is identifying a pattern of behavior, magnifying a small portion of a woman’s life, pointing out the imperfections, but also celebrating her quirkiness. The speaker is comparing the woman’s preferences for men (and thus her mistakes) to chocolate chip cookies, which suggests the speaker actually may hold the woman in warm regard (instead of freshly-baked cookies, the speaker could have easily said the women preferred sugar-coated dog food). There’s a sense that although the woman may not be there yet, the speaker hopes more refined tastes are developed in time.
She sounds to me like an ignorant sweety. She prefers them hot from the oven…Although better to know what’s inside the box because it is soooo good, she gets burned instead of bothering to peek under the lid and understand. Silly girl.
Nice poem. I really like this!
The beauty of poetry is in the differing interpretations. Thank you so much for your comment!
This sounds like an uncanny resemblence to an assessment of my lovelife given to me by a Mr. S.M. Starcraft. Trust me, there are sadder things in life than a woman who chooses the wrong guy, so pity me not.
As always, dear Bryan, your words are appreciated.