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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Do you remember Madchester? Maybe I am getting too nostalgic in my old age, but I have been thinking about that very brief gap of time when the city of Manchester was the focus of most of my attention, at least as a musical and cultural force. For a city with so many different bands and sounds in its history, it might seem strange to just pick one moment, but I am, as I said, nostalgic…and old. And I know that many of you have commented on how you like to hear about musical moments on my page. So, here I go again…
By Kendall Defoe a day ago in Beat
Comments (32)
I knew just from the title that I’d love this. We really were on the same wavelength when we wrote our poems, but your voice is one of a kind. Jellybeans conjure up innocence and childhood crushes, but this is sensually written from an adult perspective, and that reflects the timelessness of imagination you’re expressing here. The jellybeans are also an apt metaphor for something you want so much you can taste it. ‘What happens now? When you meddle with time you mess with memory’ Those lines alone could be an entire poem. You’ve made every word count here. 🤍
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 ❤️
Love this.
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
Sadly wonderful. Congrats on Top Story
🎉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😀❤️💚💚😀💚😀❤️