Issue 13
Winter 2003
Carol Greenberg
Carol Greenberg now lives in Narberth, Pa. Born Yonkers, NY, raised in Manhattan. Although, she has spent her life working in the fashion industry as a designer and consultant she has written poetry since the age of ten. She is also an artist and sculptor. Her two books of poetry are In the Eye Of The Jellyfish and Angels Knocking At The Back Door . She is a member of Penn Laurel Poetry and Mad Poets. She has six grandchildren. Carol is 75 years young.
The Penny Candy Store
All Hallows Eve in the penny candy store
with two copper pennies sweating in my hand
I watched the once happy face behind the counter
change to a glowering witch
with burning black eyes and red painted mouth
scream, "hurry up!"
With demons chasing, I ran.
Wildly searching for my brother.
Maybe, she had already eaten him.
I flew with my two copper pennies
sweating in the palm of six year old hand.Oh, how I wanted
the long white paper with the pastel
sugar candies
that I could rip off
one by one
or the sugar cigarettes
with pink tip,
imitate my mother smoking,
making believe I had
Clara Bow painted lips
or buy the wax lips
and when I got tired of pouting
I could chew the wax.I wanted sugar brown babies
with little swollen stomachs
and small behinds.
I wanted to blow bubbles
like the big girls
with double Bubble gum.Mischief Night
I grew up.
Discovered that what I liked best
was the marshmallow chocolate twist.
The twist,
only one cent,
to teach the lesson of life.
Fortune Cookie
By the time that little waxy
virginal, vagina looking
message bearing cookie arrived
I was sated and had begun tracing
train tracks with my fork on the tablecloth
uninterested in what words of wisdom
might be stored; certainly not interested
in digesting any of it.
It was not easily opened.
More of a crumbling experience
warning me that today was the first day of the rest of my life.
I ate the crumbs and chewed the message
only to spit it out into the already
crammed ashtray filled
with other Confusius, says.