June 25th

My new dread--
is being
one marshmallow kid.
The kid takes
candy in absolutism,
urgency, like
he'll pair up with
Satan for a show.

Two marshmallow kid
waits
scores high
on SATs and goes
to Yale
entices those
researchers to come
back so they can say
"We had her once.
I bet you know what
she did," because
the answer's obvious:
She's two marshmallow kid,
All patience and
the Suzuki method.

One marshmallow kid
forgets and then
dreads forgetting,
wakes up to not talk
to strangers,
even to say how old
she is
afraid of men
and ever since she ran
into that lamp post
off the subway
backwards
snuggled up like
she was just waiting
for someone to offer her
that marshmallow,

Ever since,
one marshmallow kid's
been watching
two marshmallow kid
differ rewards
posted on those lamp posts like
at least one of them's
single-minded
(but who's left-brained?)

One marshmallow kid
won't remember
this bedtime story
in a week,
where the moral is
Take the two marshmallows.
Those are your
little red pills
to realization.