Cry 'havok'

Let slip the dogs of war... And bring me my prune juice.

What happened to the candy shops

That stood in reds and blues

With stripey rain-catch canopies

Of varying hues

What happened to the movie store

Where we used to walk

They both lay on the battlefield

They're both outlined in chalk

What happened to the AllenJay's

With the crook behind the counter

He'd rob us blind for half a dime

And his nose was lined with powder

What happened to the used book stores

What happened to the woods

The dogs of war have murdered them

And they act like it was good

What happened to the pizza joint

That WASN'T DOMINO'S

They couldn't take the maritime heat

And now their doors are closed

All around us, fore and aft

A war is raging on

It's casualties, our memories.

As Old gives ground to Young.

Reviews

[Lorry]

Ah, the good old days...
Even as ultramegasupermarkets get bigger and contain everything under one roof, I do fondly recall a simpler life, as yet unspoilt by technology and if you wanted to see someone, you better be there on time or hire a private eye to find them again. No phone in pocket, facetime was taking your face to theirs, on time 😀
Penny trays of candy goodness that are now too expensive for dollar and pound stores and every chocolate bar was the size of a brick. Well, bigger than their modern, shrinkflation counterparts anyway.
And yes... Whatever happened to those pizza joints called Sonny's and Tony's?
You captured this really well and now I'm gonna go and reminisce about all those old trusted favourites that fell by the wayside.
Ps... That is code for go into kitchen cupboard and grab a handful of gummy bears from the tub 😀

[Dripping Chocolate Madness]

It's the penny candy stores I miss the most.
They were like a carnival inside.

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

I used to think it'll get better with time ...but now I know it only gets worse with time...There's no 'better days' ahead. And one day we'll find ourselves in a world that we don't know at all. Telling poem, dear Chocolate.

[Dripping Chocolate Madness]

Adapt or die. That seems to be the rule.
Thankfully, chocolate is timeless.
And absolutely necessary.

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

I know. Good thing too. You'll never be out of fashion. :)

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Indeed you capture the way we see change as the ravages of age are upon us like salivating dogs as they await our bones.

[Dripping Chocolate Madness]

And their hunger never seems to be sated.

Thx! I'd say it was a fun write, but fun isn't the word.

[barleygirl]

HOLY S**T! This is great! This is the best thing I've read of yours so far, so powerful, biting, snarling . . . yet written in this sing-song happy-snappy style. Wow! Satire at its best. So many things come to mind, not least of which is how all the mom-and-pop stores are choking in this pandemic, which will no doubt consolidate money & power for the super-wealthy even more than it already is. Your poem does NOT feel like a message directed toward any particular demise such as the pandemic . . . it could also apply to the way so many businesses have boarded up in recent decades. (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Dripping Chocolate Madness]

Thx so much :)
Yes, there's enough pandemic poetry already.
My job is to throw the curve.
I'm surprised it's gotten such a response, I honestly didn't think much of it when I posted it. But then, it's a little darker than I usually go.

[Chris Shaw]

Some things don:t improve as time progresses. I got that feeing with this write. Pity the young. They have missed out, while we remember.

Chris

[Dripping Chocolate Madness]

Don't try to explain that to them though...

[Chris Shaw]

Falls on deaf ears :))

[Papaya]

Driving through the old neighbourhood always brings back memories that I have to paint overtop of the current landscape. Things change. Guess that's just how it goes.

[Dripping Chocolate Madness]

I never understood what they meant by "you can never go home again" until I tried