candy in a bowl

she kept the same

bowl

of candy

in reach on the table

at the end

of the sunken couch.

the cushions

that never saw the sun

still orange,

the others a faded

brown.

the bowl was made

of crystal.

a gift from someone

long ago.

it added a sort

of genteel

flavor to the room,

lacking

light.

candy, she'd say,

pointing 

towards the bowl

as she asked you

to sit down,

to which you'd always

say no. maybe later,

but not now.