Grandma Needer's Chocolate Cake Poem by Richard D Remler

.......



The air was warm
As mid July,
And the moon hung
Hollow in the sky,
When Aunt Bea stepped
Just out the door,
To sweep the dusty
Veranda floor.

She let out half
A stifled yell,
Stumbled some,
And nearly fell.
She stared and blinked
And stared some more,
Beyond the beach,
Beyond the shore.

There she saw
Young Millie Blake,
Stubborn as
A gopher snake,
Setting sail
On Never's Lake
In Grandma Needer's
Chocolate Cake!

"What the blazes, "
Aunt Bea said,
As she un-calmly
Shook her head.
It wasn't something
She'd seen before,
But Grandma Needer
Wasn't sore.

She smiled bright
As Christmas snow.
Ah, you should have
Seen young Millie go!
She sailed that lake
From shore to shore,
Then turned about
To sail some more.
She caught the warm
And winding breeze.
Millie sailed that
Cake with ease!

Red licorice she
Called her mast.
And sugar taffy
Made her sail.
Graham crackers
Made a pleasant deck,
And of her
Un-weighed anchor,
Caramel.

From stern to bow
She sailed on through
The starry white,
The green and blue.
She caught the breeze,
And drifted e'er,
Though it didn't really
Matter where.
A gentle whisper
Caught her hair,
And the scent of
Chocolate
Filled the air.

She sailed along,
Beyond the gray,
And chased
The neverwill away.
She sailed
Right through
The welcome blue,
As wild as
She wanted to.

From bow to stern,
First low, then high.
From here to there,
Under the sky,
Where the shadowed wonder
Sometimes sings
Of twilight's treasured
Secret things.

She did not disturb
The butter-cream.
For it was not part
Of Millie's dream.
She kept it safe,
And let it be.
It merely sweetened
Up her sea.

And Grandma Needer's
Eyes were strong.
As if this all were
Nothing new.
She heard the Willow's
Gentle song
As she stared
Into the blue.

"Why do you smile, Gran? "
Mom said,
"For heaven's sake,
She took your cake! "
But Grandma Needer's
Eyes were sly,
As clever as a
Dragonfly.
Wise as Grandma's
Tend to be
When seeing things
We never see.

She grinned
The way most
Grandma's grin
When rememberies
Drift near,
When yesterday's
Reflections linger
Ever bright and clear.

She breathed in deep
The afternoon,
And smile wide
Again.
"Because I did
This very thing
When I was only ten."



Copyright © MMXIV Richard D. Remler