Chocolate Milk
That day I feared
I’d never stop crying,
my tears a torrent
taking me out to sea,
Dr. Helene asked what soothed me
as a sad, and scared, small kid.
Chocolate milk, I said.
Drink that, she said.
Drink until you stop the crying.
I drove to the drive-in dairy,
bought a can of chocolate syrup
and a gallon of milk,
and drank, and drank, and drank,
until my life was sweet
enough to greet my children
skipping through the door from school.
*
Good Start
A good start to a regular day,
is pulling into Gelson’s parking lot,
when the store opens at seven.
“It’s my favorite time, too,”
the young clerk says,
“because this early, nobody’s mad.”
Muffins are fresh and warm
from the oven, shelves neat, laden
with promise, produce glistens
like straight from the garden,
and for once—Hallelujah—
there’s a bin of organic potatoes,
and nary a spud sprouts an eye!
*
Donna Hilbert’s latest book is Threnody, from Moon Tide Press. Earlier books include Gravity: New & Selected Poems, Tebot Bach, 2018. She is a monthly contributing writer to the on-line journal Verse-Virtual. Work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Braided Way, Chiron Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, Rattle, Zocalo Public Square, ONE ART, and numerous anthologies. Poems have been featured on The Writer’s Almanac and on Lyric Life. She writes and leads private workshops in Southern California, where she makes her home, and during residencies at Write On Door County. Learn more at donnahilbert.com
Anything I say about why I love these may miss the true mark, so I’ll just say thank you, Donna. These poems pulled me in immediately, and not strangely, created memories of my own, which will probably become future poems.
Thank you. I am so touched by what you say,
Oh my gosh, that chocolate milk poem is just so right–and what powerful advice, what soothed you as a sad, scared kid. I will remember this. And oh, that ending. Beautiful, Donna.
I found the turning to what soothed you as a child such a powerful way to get through the present moment. Chocolate milk! So true! I’m turning to ice cream!