……..The Sweetest Treat
…………………I
The two young girls, still tender fawns,
…Came to the corner store,
And in their hands, they clutched their coins –
…Both wishing for some more.
The cache they had was but a grant,
…A grudging parent gift,
That forced their wishful anxious hearts
…To act, instead, with thrift.
They found the candy, taller racks
…Than their round wond’ring eyes.
Then, close as chocolate and nuts,
…They stood with silent sighs.
One toed the floor with wistful wipes;
…One pulled a strand of hair.
Their gazes swept as carefully
…As soldiers barracks’ care.
A pause – their heads together leaned
…Like books do when one’s gone.
Then, urgent whispers passed between
…That caused a quick count’s spawn.
The jury of two girls was out,
…Deliberation long,
Until consensus came to be –
…Such rulings can’t be wrong.
Their final choice (perhaps the name
…Made it their superstar,
The one for which they pooled their all) –
…An Everlasting bar.
……………………II
The senior drove up in his car
…To that same corner store.
As ducks will waddle when they walk,
…He shuffled to the door.
To worker at the register,
…He gave a nod, polite.
His practiced eyes glanced o’er the store –
…No customers in sight.
He, too, was quick to find the aisle
…Of all things grand and sweet.
For that’s the only reason why
…He went from home to street.
He was a moth drawn to the flame,
…And though he knew the fire,
Inexorably, it drew him still
…To fill that one desire.
He, like the girls, stood still and looked,
…His mind an unmade bed.
Though his dilemma was not theirs,
…The clock ticked on and bled.
He wasn’t bound by pocketbook;
…He wasn’t chained to change.
He could have bought a store of sweets,
…And never thought it strange.
Instead, health was his main concern –
…Not treat the sweet, but knife.
His sugar, fats, were limited:
…He chose a shake called Life.
…………………….III
An ice cream and a candy bar –
…So small in size and cost;
A temporary trifle bought,
…And yet much time was lost
In making up the minds and mind
…About a simple thing
That raised itself in prominence
…Due to the limiting.
When there is one and only one
…The value escalates –
A Mona Lisa, Everest,
…The key to pearly gates.
And when it’s not a candy bar,
…But worth is more than gold,
How long should one deliberate
…Before his soul is sold?
How should a man fill up his days
…In pondering this chance
That we call life upon this earth,
…Our first and final dance?
For what we have is but a test;
…Our coin is our life.
And we must weigh the consequence
…Of treat that is but knife.
Combined, the youths and senior chose,
…By thinking long and well
The treat – an Everlasting Life
…A heaven, not a hell.
The Bard on the Hill 
Quite an effort – well done.
Thanks. I always debate long about the sweet and I once saw two girls headed into the corner grocery (we call them minimarts, etc.) and thought of their buying.