The Chocolate Orange

5/14/06 The would'ves, the couldves, The shouldves, and what might haves Famous last words of the procrastinator Who lets his ambitions become divided Into separate but equal halves Not unlike the chocolate orange That sits upon his hope chest Full of ifs, ands, and buts Postcards from possibilities Full of one syllable sentences Such as RISE, STRIVE, and DRIVE Potentials we knew when we were too young To be afraid of dreaming the golden dream Long before color segregated, class separated, And creed regulated ~ Long before we were placed systematically Into our own prospective places Like the leafs of the chocolate orange. Not necessarily equal in quantity, but always separate in viewpoint Always one by ourselves, and never really connecting Long before an impartial society Dashed our dreams and ambitions and divided them Into separate but equal halves The wouldves, the couldves, The shouldves, and what might haves All part of lifes chocolate orange.

By Brendan Flanagan