Sometimes I Imagine my Unlikely Future with You and Watch it Become my History
or 'Jellybeans' a poem
It happened one September day
I stole a bag of jellybeans
threaded them onto a necklace
sniffed each flavour … just for fun.
My counsellor said if you were a jellybean, what flavour
would you be?
I thought of daisies, buttercups, bluebells, borage—a wildflower garden
in your irises
hues like jellybeans blending bending to your will—
Me! I replied me flavour.
Because it's me you devour when I dream.
I recalled some sorry guy who rambled on about his life of tattered threads
until dawn.
He never called.
They never did.
I recalled how I fidgeted and pulled my too-short skirt to hide
my too-short legs
in that corner spot at every party
in the draughty seat at every bar
where I feigned nonchalance,
minted laughter from biology,
forged goblets from silver candy wrappers,
watched you and others
talk
laugh
swap ice-cubes … mouth to mouth
melt into each other, … a body of bodies. Rainbows
formed from my neon sun-head and damned tears.
My future is my history
already lived … when I tasted those jellybeans
lolled them around my tongue
let them tingle
where I wanted you.
What happens now?
When you meddle with time
you mess with memory.
I wanted to remember having you, having us wrapped
in salty blankets,
warbling songs from 80s, 90s,
sharing sticky jellybeans.
* * * * *
About the Creator
Teresa Renton
Inhaling life, exhaling stories, poetry, prose, flash or fusions. An imperfect perfectionist who writes and recycles words. I write because I love how it feels to make ink patterns & form words, like pictures, on a page.
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Center Stage with Gina C.
*** I'm keen to republish the interviews I did for my series with Vocal creators. It's been a few years and I thought it might be nice to revisit these wonderful conversations. I'll be releasing them one at a time for a few weeks/months.
By Heather Hubler4 days ago in Interview
Comments (32)
This is a wonderful poem with amazing imagery.
I think this is my new favourite. Salty blankets and sticky jellybeans, what fun 😁 This paints such a detailed picture with only a few well chosen strokes. Masterful.
My future is my history. So beautiful
So intricate and beautifully done 🤍 The complexity of jellybeans in relation to strong emotion is masterfully navigated-Love this so much! And apoligies for not commenting /liking earlier!
I really enjoyed this and you do have another heart
The beginning of the poem captures a sense of whimsy and playfulness. The act of stealing a bag of jellybeans and threading them onto a necklace adds an element of mischief to the narrative. The protagonist's curiosity in sniffing each flavor just for fun reveals a childlike joy in simple pleasures.
Congratulations ❤️
This was so good. Very intelligent prose
This is just wonderful, clever and beautifully written
nice work !!
Oh my. This is wonderful. My husband has a jellybean story. He was younger and upset one night and a stranher came up to him and said "don't worry kid, life is a bag of jellybeans. You just got to choose what flavour." He remembers and shares this story to this day. It helped him immeasurably. 🥰
Beautifully crafted. Congratulations on your top story.
Lovely poetry, Your words paint a vivid tapestry of emotions, weaving the innocence of jellybeans with the complexity of human desires... Congrats for the top story!
Congrats on a well deserved Top Story
very well written please subscribe me also
🎉This poem gives me Happy feelings♥️😁💋✌️Congratulations on Your Top Story❗
Congratulations on your Top Story,
Really lovely.
;)
Congratulations on your Top Story🎉
Oh my. This is fabulous. Well done. 👏
This is incredible...the whole damn thing was an experience...what I especially loved was clever it all was and complex but that the clever complexity didn't ruin the melancholic beauty of it all! Congrats on a thoroughly well deserved and remarkable Top Story!
The subtle playfulness mixed with desirable desires created a wonderful tone to your poem. Excellent work!
🤯❤️😍… processing. Wow, Teresa, this is one of those poems where I know I’m still missing things but the things that I am getting are already melting my brain!! In a good way ❤️😍
Well done😀❤️💚💚😀💚😀❤️