Acerbic Sugar Revisited
by Odin Roark

Cotton Candy Happy
swirling in its cocoon of anticipation,
coloring itself to fit ambition’s mood,
served up by numerous three-hundred pound testimonials
to get us thinking… Happy.

The buy-in is short lived, though.

This euphoria of mind,
today's relationship with work,
mate,
family,
all looking forward to
tomorrow's big deal,
the “Who you know” capture…
all part of next week’s surprise disappointment.

We all know…

BFFs to start,
jock buddies "On the Road" for some,
executive "Mad Men" washroom rewards for others,
and always gold watches for time served,
or baby showers for those who made the catch.

Sadly…

Most tomorrows become regrettable mistakes,
dumpsters of yesterday’s limpid cones,
once swirled with fluffy sugar,
garnering sweetness of smiles,
adulthood’s personification of childhood naiveté,
the clinging we can’t let go of.

The wise suggest
accept the bed we’ve made,
sleep in it.
After all,
it’s all just a carnival of horrors we created
as a twisted sugar-sweet-laced-happy-happy.

Ya gotta LOL
or weep,
or…