the chocolate in trail mix
doesn't know it's the best
because it's always picked last

I just found
some
chocolate truffles
NO!!
I'm not sharing

Of that cold spring day when our hands froze
Clutching cones of your favorite strawberry ice cream

Of the following warm summer day when my favorite
Chocolate ice cream coated our tongues

Of that day we escaped our classes
And found ourselves held captive
By the soft cherry ice
With nuts on top

Of bubblegum sonnets, of almond praline declarations of love
Of fig and honey serenades
With soft coffee angels singing in the back
And cookie cream cherubs whispering in our ears.

Of the best first taste.

Of the worst last lick.

Here I have a chocolate meditation,
Writing an ode for edification,
What is a chocolate meditation?
It is a packet of Tim Tams, in Oz nation,
Let's hear it  for Oz Tim Tams,
From an Australian native chocolate plant,
Thence to an endless dish,
Of chocolate biscuits, utter bliss,
No afternoon tea is complete,
For the last Tim Tam we do compete,
Giggling gerties, one and all,
Chicks can hide them in their holdalls,
Without Tim Tams, housework is incomplete,
Must keep our ample figures neat!
I've heard they're unique to Oz nation,
Tim Tams, total chocolate meditation!

What is death by chocolate?
Chocolate you must accumulate,
To amass your aggregate,
Are Mars Bars better than a man?
For chocolate you reach your hand,
Is there enough chocolate in the land?
Then there's housework in the world,
Best keep your strength up, girls,
Give those chocolate twirls a whirl,
A moment on our lips,
A lifetime on the hips,
Just call us cuddly from now on!
As on chocolate we ponder on,
Death by chocolate, satisfaction!

cocoa pod fell
in perennial grass refined
like bitter strife
discovering sweet life
like an old lean
imbibing a fresh spin
fully enriched
this bean

People are like chocolate.
We're all essentially the same but we have some differences.
Some are dark chocolate, white chocolate, or milk chocolate;
And no I don't mean your skin.
Some may have peanuts, caramel, cherries, or peanut butter inside.
We all have different experiences, thoughts, ideas, and personalities.
We all share most of the same ingredients and feelings,
But understanding something you've never experienced is always hard for humans.

Many people suffer from the addiction of adrenaline,
Those who love that fire that erupts from their skin when punctured.
This is one of the hardest experiences for others to understand.
The chocolate is a symbol of our sweetness - our happiness.

Those who are free come in lovely boxes with pretty designs.
They're decorated and packaged gently in a little bed.
But others, come wrapped in sharp and painful foil.
The foil represents our pain, depression, anxiety;
Anything that could lead to those ugly lacerations.

We hit ourselves, split skin, and burn ourselves to **** away the sorrow.
We cauterize the outer layer that engulfs ourselves to reveal our happiness.
But that happiness only lasts for a little while.
When a wrapper comes off a bit, you find a way to cover the whole.
And our melancholic shields cover that bit of joy up.

What some may not realize is that depression really is like wrapped chocolate.
If you try to slice the wrapping off, you will cut the treat.
If you burn the wrapper, the sweetness will melt away.
If you hit the foil, you've destroyed the beauty inside.

This is what happens to us when we give in to our despair.
We think it's helping.
But all it's doing is killing the beautiful person inside, who we are.
Destroying our outer skin pulls us deeper into a coma like state.
Where we're forced to drown in our mental wounds while painting pictures on our skin.

All you need to do is reach out a hand.
It might take a while for someone to notice you.
But someday, someone will reach back and intertwine their fingers with yours.
You just have to be willing to not put your hand down.

Find something that will keep you going.
Your pet whom you love.
A younger sibling or nephew or niece who look up to you.
A passion or dream you want to chase after.
The best thing to do in your darkest hour, is to look ahead and find something worth seeing.
Whether it's something so simple as having your favorite food on the weekend.
Or something as big as saving the world.

You don't need to do any of this on your own.
Just like with different chocolates; not everyone will like you.
But you will always have people close to you who love you.
And they are all that matter.

So don't damage yourself.
Don't try to peel the sadness off with a knife or fire.
Find that someone or something that makes you happy.
And the sorrow ridden foil will fall off all on it's own.
Or that someone will pull it off for you.

It will be okay. I promise.

today I ate candies
and chocolates
and ice cream
and I figured out
that they are
the flavor of you

the ghostly thin layer of condensation
gathers on the transparent plastic
there are no ice cubes in sight
it can't be cold
but it can't be warm
the muddy brown liquid confounds me
and there's only one question on my mind...

is that chocolate milk or room-temperature coffee?

Their parents split

when his brother was young
He was never there he just
sort of hung
around
from time to time
leaving the smell of
chocolate behind.

l.r.