Front cover of the first US edition
of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)
Illustrated by Joseph Schindelman
When Little Devil Snickers
Lookin for a Bit-O-Honey,
strollin’ down Sweet Avenue,
what did this Kit Kat see?
Big Hunks, bending ale
elbows at the cafe;
Three Musketeers
geared in Medieval cosplay,
Sugar Babies,
Waxed Mustachio Twizzlers,
Tootsie Roll Red Hots.
Sweetart’s got a Jones,
A Skittles in my drawers.
These three heroes
gonna be Lifesavers
at a campfire of S’mores.
Lillian is today’s host at dVerse’ Tuesday Poetics. Lillian wants us to write a poem with one or more of these candies. As a creature of excess, especially when it comes to food and other things, her prompt delighted me. I had a blast writing the poem. The highlighted sweets are used, and I added one or two others in there for good measure.
Bit-O-Honey Red Hots
Chuckles Good & Plenty
Big Hunk Bars Lifesavers
Snickers Butterfinger
Kit Kat Milk Duds
Pay Day Oh Henry Bars
Skittles Mike & Ike
Dots Starburst
Twix Razzles
Three Musketeers Sweetarts
Charleston Chew Mr. Goodbar
Whoppers Twizzlers
Sugar Babies Tootsie Rolls
Milky Way Bars Watchamacallit Bars
Tao Talk 
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! Read it aloud after reading it silently….aloud, I was smiling all the way through Love it all and am especially smitten by those “Waxed Mustachio Twizzlers,” So glad you had fun with it. And it is delicious…and with no calories! :)
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<3 Thank you, Lillian, happy it made you smile.
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I can see you had fun with this poem, Lisa, and I had fun, too, imagining ‘Bit-O-Honey, strollin’ down Sweet Avenue’ and ‘Big Hunks, bending ale elbows at the café’. A lot of the sweets in the list we don’t have over here, so I had no preconceptions.
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Thanks, Kim, I did. Honestly, I wouldn’t dare eat many of them any more as they would pull my fillings out.
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You’re welcome, Lisa. have to keep away from sweets as I’m diabetic. But I do love chocolate!
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Love it! I also went the risqué way😀
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Cheryl is this you? Guessing as I just read your poem. Oh Henry! Thanks :)
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Such a creepy cover. My younger daughter was terrified by the movie. I’ve never read the book, but it made for a fun poem, Li!
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Merril, he is a little devil so we don’t want him looking too warm and fuzzy ;) I know Dahl later collaborated with Quentin Blake as illustrator, but even then, there is almost always a creep factor in Dahl’s work, but also great heart. He lived in an orphanage as a child and it shaped his work. I happened upon him at the children’s section of the library when my kids were in elementary school, with his book, “The Twits.” Been a fan ever since. Thanks for reading and your comment.
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I know lots of people love his work. I just never read it, and then knowing about his anti-Semitism, I didn’t feel compelled.
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I honestly had no idea about Dahl and his anti-Semitism, racist, and misogynistic views/writing. I did a little web-searching this morning and found a Time article about it:
https://time.com/5937507/roald-dahl-anti-semitism/
To say I have mixed feelings after reading it is an understatement. I see that Netflix is making some movies about some of his works and are “neutralizing” whatever may be perceived as bigoted, and two of the directors, Taika Waititi and Donald Glover, are good choices to do it.
Interestingly, the illustrator that Dahl used here for this book is Jewish.
p.s. I also read some about Dahl’s childhood and learned he wasn’t an orphan (his wealthy father died when he was about 3 years old.) He was sent to boarding school at somewhere around age 8.
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There are so many writers, artists, musicians, etc. who have said, done, or believed terrible things.
Well, if nothing else, you’ve learned some new information–always a good thing!
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And lots of non-artists also. We are a flawed species. Yes, on having full disclosure on Dahl. What a disappointment :(
I watched a series of lectures on George Orwell a month or so ago. Similar to Dahl, he was sent to India to be a police officer (forgot the exact title he had) and was disgusted and sickened by what he saw in colonialism. He left the service early and came back to England, but he never forgot what he saw and he incorporated it into his writing.
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Yes, Orwell’s an interesting person. I think 1984 is one of the most terrifying books ever.
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I absolutely love, love this! Especially; “Waxed Mustachio Twizzlers,
Tootsie Roll Red Hots.” ❤️❤️
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:) Thanks, S!
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You hit the sweet spot with this one, Lisa! Sheer brilliance and funny as hell. Great writing!
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Nancy, you rock. Thank you <3
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Very welcome!
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Love this wonderful poem Li.
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I enjoyed writing it, Sadje. Thank you <3
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You’re very welcome dear friend
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Cleverly done, Lisa! It was an Almond Joy. ;-)
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LMAO! Perfect!
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You could not have chosen a better Wonka for this challenge. Gene Wilder, none finer in all of Wonka Land! Of course, I am imagining your wonderful poem set to music!!! Cheers, you made me feel SO happy this morning.
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Helen, I would love to hear you sing that song <3 I brought happiness to myself in writing it :)
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That’s a sweet mix there Lisa.
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My teeth are hurting thinking about real candy. Thanks, Randy :)
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LOL
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Sounds like the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory to me! I love that movie.
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Nolcha, glad you enjoyed the story. I love the movie also. The guy who plays his Grandpa Joe is just perfect <3
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Terrific Lisa! You really incorporated a lot of candy and made it so sweet ☺️❤️
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Glad you satisfied your sweet tooth with it, Christine :)
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I love the waxed mustache twiddlers. That’s a pretty cool. A very funny image. Thanks so much for writing this and posting it.
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Glad you enjoyed it, Aaron, thanks!
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I have a friend who is a ‘Waxed Mustachio Twizzler’ – I’ve never asked why. It’s a statement of something but I’m not sure what.
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Shaun, there is something to be said for them :)
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What a fun poem, Lisa! I loved it!
Yvette M Calleiro :-)
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
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I’m imagining a netflix movie with that plot and smiling :) Thanks, Yvette.
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Love this, Lisa, especially the “wax mustachio Twizzlers”!
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The wax mustachio Twizzlers are also my favorite.🙃
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:)
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