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The Ever Elusive Purple Smartie
by Alison McKenzieI remember so well
The Doughnut Cart man.
Hed be waiting for us after school,
In his parked camper,
With his wooden drawers full of
Fresh glazed doughnuts;
And the treasure-chest drawer underneath
Full of penny candy
(Two pennies by the time I reached the fourth grade).
So Id take twenty cents and buy
Nine little rolls of Smarties -
Two pennies each -
And one, just one,
Watermelon Jolly Rancher.
Id carefully unroll each pack
In search of the
Ever elusive purple Smarties -
There were never enough of those -
And wed use em like cash
For trade of
Barbie doll outfits & accessories,
Hair Barrettes and dress up clothes.
Oh yes, the purple Smarties
41 years old and I look for them still
And feel an old-world rich when I find them.
08/17/2004 Author's Note: He was an old, old man, and I truly believe he didn't sell anything out of the back of that camper but junk food. P.S. I'm VERY easily entertained. LOL!!!!!
Posted on 08/17/2004
Copyright © 2025 Alison McKenzie
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Michelle Angelini on 08/17/04 at 11:24 PM Alison, this poem is so cool! I think my childhood memory was the Good Humor Man. What a nice memory. Seems he always ran out of Fudgesicles. |
| Posted by Lori Johnson on 08/20/04 at 04:48 PM For me it was the green apple Now & Laters. LOL
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| Posted by Angela Nuzzo on 10/20/07 at 05:12 AM Great poem, Alison! I actually have 3 rolls of Smarties left from some candy I bought awhile ago. 1 roll has FOUR purples in it! Does that make me rich? :) My favorites are the white ones because they taste like baby aspirin. ;) When I was little, we'd go into Woolworths & spend some of our allowance on candy. I LOVED the dip stick pack with the sugar. And the Big League Chew. And the sugar dots on the long pieces of paper! I might have to eat these last 3 rolls of Smarties! YUM! |
| Posted by Nicole D Gregory on 01/09/08 at 08:13 PM I love this! We need to go back to the day when candy WAS candy... not "midgees" and "fun size"... but I love the perspective of wealth captured in your writing!!! I just love it!!! ~N |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 04/24/08 at 02:53 PM ...memories to treasure, ahhh, mine was [are you ready?] bill nesbitt our ice man...for the ice box, not refrigerator, they were'nt invented til 1927 but i ain't that old, just that poor...memories allow us to feel like we're real, eh?...lovely lil' walk down youuuur memory lane...charlie |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 03/11/09 at 05:09 PM For me it was Devil Dogs and Wise potato chips! I never liked Smarties....but my kids did1 Tjis piece brought back very pleasant memories of my childhood- thank you! |
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