Apr 2019
'Oderint dum metuant. Atreus, Books III–V "De Ira", I, 20, 4.'
They unwrap me like candy
Peeling, stripping flesh and sinew carelessly
Rice paper thin boldness dissolving
Melamine tinged shifting unsettled smiles
I grin back at them sweetly,
Teeth and jaw, bare bone beaming white
They have made me no more but the refreshing whispers of wrappers
Now, I am the nothingness that they cannot destroy
They unwrap me like candy
Peeling, stripping flesh and sinew carelessly
Rice paper thin boldness dissolving
Melamine tinged shifting unsettled smiles
I grin back at them sweetly,
Teeth and jaw, bare bone beaming white
They have made me no more but the refreshing whispers of wrappers
Now, I am the nothingness that they cannot destroy
White Rabbit taffy and Polo mints are popular childhood candies in my native Malaysia (and my personal favorites as well). White Rabbits are milk flavored candies wrapped with an edible rice paper layer, the dairy used to make the taffy was contaminated by Melamine during the 2008 Chinese milk scandal; many governments deeming it unsafe for children to consume. The Latin above reads 'Let them hate, so long as they fear'
