Corner Store

In the past
I was a young boy
With his face pressed up
Against the corner candy store window.

They made egg creams
And malted milk shakes there.

The real deal.

You could smell the magic of the place
Escaping out the front door.

Chocolate
Strawberries
Vanilla
Oranges and Cream.

They had Spider Man and Fantastic Four comics
In the front windows
Covers fading in the strong sun
Along with all of the dime store candies that they sold.

My face was pressed up against the thick window
Drool spittling out...

I could smell the fresh newsprint
That those comics were printed on.

I could smell the chocolate
The Sourballs, Fire Hots, Jawbreakers
And licorice
Of old time Dutch pipes
And red strawberry string shoe laces.

I am there
With my face pressed up against the window
Fogging up the clean glass with
Noseprints
Fingerprints
And otherwise

As you lie before me
Legs up high

Me in bewilderment
At your magic and beauty.

Of you exposed

Fragrant of mangoes
Citrus
Vanilla
And flesh.

Envious of the superpowers
And the sweetness of nickel dimestore candy

Of these things
Much greater than myself
And my past.

Chocolate Bar And Lube

We left my house
This morning
Because I had to go to work.

That was the only reason
Or we’d still be in bed.

It was after we fucked again
And took a shower
Soaping each other
Sea-legs like jello.

We were packing bags
And getting dressed
When I asked if you wanted
To take your lube.

You told me
That we should leave it here
For when you come back
And I wasn’t going to argue
With that.

I took you for coffee
In one of the last rains of winter
And the coffee was warm and good
We smiled laughing
Hot breath balmy
Over paper cups.

Our parting was timed impeccably
As we got into our separate cars.

I was only two minutes late.

When I returned home from work
I found your chocolate bar
On top of my dresser.

There were several pieces missing
That you had fed us
During our trysts
Otherwise
The wrapper was pristine
Announcing
Chilli Peppers and Cherries
In Dark Chocolate.

I was tempted.

I broke off a small piece
Placing it in my mouth.

The last three days came
Rushing back
Melting
A mix of fire and milky sweetness.

I rubbed the bite marks
You left deep in my chest
Bruised blue topographic trophies
And hobbled over on shakey legs
Putting the bar of chocolate
In the closet
Next to the lube
Safe for your return.

I shut the door
While still chewing on a long-lasting
Bit of cherry.

The flavor was forward
Tart
And intense.