.
A Box of Chocolates is like Life:
(That Mrs. Gump she got it right.)
You never know just what you’ll get,
so take a chance: Jump in; don’t fret!
Life’s Bittersweet—both dark and light—
but with some luck, most bites you’ll like.
It helps to read the Contents Card,
as some rejects lie smiling, scarred.
But “C’est la vie”: “C’est si bon—bon,”
and even though you get some wrong . . .
Still, Carpe diem!—and a plate.
Nosh choco-early, choco-late.
.
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Tonia Kalouria, a former Spanish teacher and “soap” actress, is now a poet in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Her most recent—and rhyming—poems appear in Literary Veganism and Fox Hollow Stories, and two anthologies: “Quoth the Raven” and “Poems from the Lockdown.”
Simply Scrumptious! Thank you!
Thanks Theresa!
And very witty!
Thanks so much.
As a chocolate lover I appreciate every line and rhyme of your poem, thank you. Just thinking about chocolate causes a glorious little dopamine release in my central nervous system, which will tide me over until tomorrow when I can have more chocolate, as I’ve already reached my limit of today’s allowance. I’ve never heard of giving up chocolate for lent though. Is that a cultural tradition?
I’m guessing that the Chocolate Lenten deprivation is short lived:-)
So happy you enjoyed the little homage.
Heh-heh. As a youngster, however, I was always more fond of vanilla, especially when it came to ice cream. But I’ve been known to devour a box of chocolates with all due haste, proving that I have no principles at all. Your poem today was every bit as sweet.
Love your anecdote! Thanks for sharing.
Tonia, what a delicious treat of a poem. I love its playfulness… the mention of that marvelous Forrest Gump quote, “C’est si bon—bon” (very clever), and the choco-early/late of the closing line. I’m smiling – thank you!
So glad I could bring a smile. Thanks!
Tonia – you nearly had me licking the screen. Yumbo!
LOL! 🙂
But “C’est la vie”: “C’est si bon—bon,”
Can you elaborate this line, please
Sure … The first clause translates to “That’s life,” and the second part adds:
“It’s so good.” The second “bon” is wordplay: Life’s not just good — it’s good
like a chocolate bon-bon, bringing us back to the theme: “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
Thank you Tonia. The season of Lent and humor do not always cross paths but your poem put a stop sign at the intersection and forced me to smile long enough to remember that with both life and Lent there is joy in the morning. As one preacher put it, “It’s Friday . . . but Sunday’s coming!”
Amen.
What a lovely comment. Thank you.