From Heaven to Hell
Pixie Stix, the magic of childhood
Smell and taste intertwined - the strongest senses,
memory recalled – can return at any time
~
Tastes from the past burst forth
good and bad,
chocolate to cough syrup.
Some taste buds, however, once died
from my having a brother.
~
Five years old I was,
a crisp NY Halloween in the air.
My favorite Pixie Stix nearly mine,
tubes of radiant fruit-flavored bliss.
~
The ritual trading of candy between my brother and me over,
I carefully opened all the pastel-striped straws of Pixie Stix
pouring them into a small white bowl.
that glorious bowl would last
the next few glorious autumn mornings
~
My brother - evil incarnate –
defiled my sugary aspirations.
Seven years older than I
and too old to go trick-or-treating.
I was his convenient dupe that day.
~
After playing outside
I headed back in the kitchen
and reached for the beautiful bowl.
my brother watched me from across the kitchen table -
a hideous scarecrow with black eyes,
and I downed the delicious dust
~
Suddenly, my eyes began to tear
my mouth was on fire,
I felt like throwing up.
I cried as my eyes swelled shut with pain,
my nose squinched up in a perpetual sneeze.
My brother’s laughter knocked him off the kitchen chair
… but ….
he was immediately dispatched to his room,
our mother discovering the sordid truth
~
Demon brother had eaten most of my beloved candy powder
and then
as any demon was wont to do,
replaced it with pure black pepper
replacing a layer of Pixie
to hide the fire-spice.
~
To this day, I believe he is still there in his dungeon,
withering away half a century later,
without remorse and laughing at my tears.
About the Creator
Barb Dukeman
An English teacher by trade, I’ve spent 32+ years in the classroom, instilling a love of literature (and a tolerance of writing) in my students. I started reading at the age of three and started writing at 13 with a poem about green socks.
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Comments (3)
Lol! That's it.
Dana's comment made me roll on the floor, laughing! But, seriously, is it too late for a good spanking?
Oh, now that's much more than wrong! I remember Pixie Stix very well - the originl cheap high. lol