Another Shop On The Street With Mary Poppins Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

hard words with a candy center,
can such things be?
queried the wanderers fresh off the bus.

I went with them to see:
hard words with a candy center
and more, besides

in a sweet shoppe off the beaten way.
where egg whites were beaten
40 times a day to freshen the

peaks imaginations slid down
hard words with a candy center
lined up in apothecary jars

and here's a handful of the lemon
sunbursts
the caramel twirled the raspberry

indented shells overflowing with
hazelnut (reserved for the poets
or children after school.)

or blue ribboned ribbon candies
for the vocabulary builders
in the back of the books;

aurora bright, day long
lollipops and sundries
the sugar dusted conversation starters

glasslike, made with honey,
pink vanilla fudged
my and my again we sighed

taking some of each
till the last bell chimed
taking pink sackfuls back with us

and, at christmas time
red and green sacks of mince pie words
for those who never minced them

what a surprise
ginger orange peeled snug under the Tree
'where did you get these? '

(keeping the key lime answers for ourselves)

mary angela douglas 28 february 2014