I am ten and we are staring

at an episode of Law and Order

when a Twix commercial comes

on. The burgundy sofa transforms

into a golden, crinkly wrapper. I demand

the $1.07 I need to purchase

a chocolate candy

bar. She lifts her glass

eyes and out of a drunk fantasy

she is having of abundance, an endless world

of green trees and ample faces,

waves to our worn wallet. Even though we have diddly-squat

in the bank, I fold into the sweet, crispy Twix

the way a nun folds in a chapel, thanking God

for her bounty. My teeth slide

through the cacao layer. To awaken her,

my caramel-slick tongue puffs

cocoa powder into her face. The two

cookie sticks are my new lungs,

but I still can’t breathe.

Sometimes I wake up with chocolate in my mouth.


Amanda Talbot is a freshman working toward a major in Spanish with a minor in Portuguese. She plans to become a polyglot translator somewhere abroad upon. She has also been published in various online and print literary magazines, as well as received awards and honorable mentions for her poetry and essays.