the fate of a man whose love of his life

cares not for chocolates

that is chocolate-chocolate

white chocolate is not really chocolate

the main ingredient is cocoa butter

fat from the cocoa bean

to that is added powdered milk, vanilla
milk fat from clarified butter, sugar

becomes white chocolate

but it is not technically chocolate

nor is it a sole alternative
as i began exploring her
my mind in an endless challenge to chocolate
i bought for movies, cut into chunks 
Paydays, Big Hunks, Bit O' Honey

onto a small platter to accompany 
the popcorn she so artfully made

those were my earlier attempts
it was by perchance, no it was fate

i soon came upon a magazine 

that featured French candies
the kind that comes wrapped, large bags
and it comes in the mail
quite the experience finding juste le bonne
my desk at work was the taste test lab
watching the evaporation of each candy

soon accompanying popcorn were
French delights wrapped in a rainbow of colors

children of France no doubt begged for
a plethora of shapes and flavors
i keep a bowl of favorites in her craft room

she loves divinity, makes her own

white syrup, whipped eggs, sugar, vanilla

chopped pecans, it is divine divinity

but my talents lie in obtaining the rarity

that was at the bakery
where i could obtain the delicacies
not the ones she uses for Italian dinners 

a delicate surprise for her mornings

which was no surprise

because they would appear in boxes

where they were refrigerated
until they were needed
heavily marked do not open, surprise inside

these included the macaroon, canele

sacristains, Napoleons, beignets

but more so was the bakery experience

where pointing to some pictures

i became the man who tossed the gauntlet
make me this drove their passions
into a mad frenzy of culinary perfections
those nights of burning midnite oil
where measurements are mandatory exact
a teaspoon full passes jaundiced eyes 
of the pastry chef before added

when the love of your life is unique
and she does not love chocolate
it becomes your heart's quest
you are at war with the world of chocolate
failure is not an option
it is a deadly serious war of woo
failure is not an option
por le gout sucre 
de l'amour dans ses yeux
the sweet taste of love in her eyes

3/12/19