I remember
One old man who lived
In a small-town nursing home.

I remember being told,
By older neighbor girls,
As we walked home from the cross-town
Pool, he had candy! An old coffee tin
Filled with differently coined treats!
I was probably eight or so.

I remember my older always-brazen
Neighbor sit on his lap, in his corner chair.
He liked that. We others sat on the edge
Of his nursing home bed, she had her towel
Over her lap. We fidgeted. She got a ten-cent
Candy bar and a quarter, we got penny candy.

I remember other visits to the candy man,
In a group, mostly, once or twice
Alone. I might have even sat on his lap,
I remember eating a candy bar or two
After a later visit, although by then his grip
Was getting weaker. I even still remember his name.

I remember
One old man who lived
In a manufactured world.

Erin Elizabeth Kelly-Moen
© Copyright 10/17/07