Satiety
Macaroons and frosted cupcakes blush
under the shining-eyed approval
of the child in the shirred sundress.
The breath of the waiting queue is hushed
by a tension-melting spectacle,
as she is swept off her tip-toes
by the debonair gingerbread men.
The relieved mother nods, smiling.
This should be the denouement:
The patisserie assistant slips
the treat into a white paper bag
and a prompt conclusion allows
bemused onlookers to share a brief
afterglow of benevolence.
Except that, the patisserie
assistant is dallying
and the child is spellbound by
a new wave of possibilities.
The little golden men display
a spectrum of white iced expressions
and carnival coloured buttons.
The child's pointing finger hovers;
she is fulfilled by the moment.
The patisserie assistant kneels
beside the glass cabinet
where the men live at child-eye level.
She is complicit and condoning.
She drops below the adult plane.
Above them, the customers simmer.
The shapes and colours of sugar
are important to a child;
the piquancy of ginger less so.
A choice! -pink, blue, green buttons,
uncertain brow and a squiggled mouth.
The gingerbread man looks offended.
The next customers, finally served,
are understandably rankled.
The patisserie assistant
owes them at least forty-five seconds.
Their faces are cool. An echo
of the gingerbread man's mute rebuke
is resounding in their fluent eyes.
Later, she wraps the white plastic tray
of remaining men in clear plastic.
[...] Read more
poem by Diane Hine
Added by Poetry Lover
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