bowls of hard candy

my mother would put out a bowl
of hard
candy each year.

Christmas candy.

most of it was left over from
the year before,

or the year before that.
striped
and hard.
ribboned green and red,

orange too.

some gooey on the inside.
others
too sweet or bitter,

impossible to chew
without breaking a tooth.

it never went bad.
the ashtrays were full
of slick white
pieces.

clean of color, unfinished
and spit out
into hands

when no one was looking.