A Hershey's Variation
Wherein Hershey recalls those Cutie Pie
lips of his beloved Baby Ruth,
remembers how his sweet Kisses
were hers to win at the Mars Bar's
contest the summer before last:
He'd sworn he could count out
all his competition, first faulting
Juicy Fruit for making a mess
of his girl's Hot Lix lipstick, then
asking LifeSaver to disqualify
Junior Mints on account of the boy's
delicate youth. (Hershey's no Dum Dum.)
He'd watched Good and Plenty take
on Atomic Fire Balls and Hot Tamales;
shook his head when they upped his
odds by 100 Grand. But no worries.
When he saw among contest registrants
Sour Punch and Goobers and Nerds,
he just laughed, calling them
3 Musketeers with Cotton Candy hair
and Jelly-Bellies — traits no Perugina
he knew would dare call Amazin' Fruit.
True, Hershey didn't have a body at all
like the bodies of the Chunky Singles,
or hair the color of a little Bit-o-Honey,
and Rolo had, truth be known, eliminated
Heath Bar to advance to finals, beating
Almond Mounds and Smarties, too,
who'd had to sit out the second round
after bragging about their Whoppers.
If he played things right, Almond King
and that too-old Sugar Daddy would
be gone in a heartbeat. As for Mr. Good
-bar, well-known for mean, dirty dealings,
he'd go the way of the Jolly Ranchers,
a gang pretending to be Charleston Chew,
and those Airheads who'd made a play
for Peeps After Eight and Peppermint
Patty. Don't you know? Their reward
was a couple of Tootsie Rolls and a boot
straight out. Original Herb, judge
for the "Best Kisser" round, kicked
Nestle's Crunch from the bunch,
citing too much rippling muscle in those
carameled arms to deserve little
Baby Ruth's affections. Soon, Kit-Kat
withdrew for reasons unknown, then
Butterfinger missed his lady's mouth
by a wide margin of error. Hershey,
alone now, and the last one standing,
gave it his everything. And what a PayDay
it turned out to be. Just that one look
into Baby Ruth's eyes — they were pure
Starbursts — and Hershey was smothering
her (but gently) in dark chocolate Kisses
to wild applause. And Baby Ruth, who
once again proved she could tell
a winner from a loser — she'd taken
her cues from Sweetarts', after all,
that doll who'd had Dots for Kit Kat,
the contest's runner-up who'd marked
the occasion with a riot of free Snickers
and a side of Twix — she wrapped
herself 'round Hershey in Ricolo hall,
pledging him both heart and soul.
O Henry! she moaned.
Let's Take 5!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
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