dummy

it is the only taste in my life
and like the seashells in my pocket
when we walked to the pier
last night I will never lose the taste never

but mom says when I scrunch my face
and ask for another piece I did exactly the same
thing the first time
I tasted saltwater taffy last year last summer

and where are the shells I brought to her room
and poured on the bed
over her suitcase and her night-things
when she told me to be quiet

about the ocean later
and go to sleep? But I am
I am tasting it and I don’t believe her.
I have never, never had saltwater taffy, never.

6/14/2003