Like the sweet ambrosia of Mount Olympus,
Golden as the gods,
These cafeteria cookies, a glowing isthmus,
Bring heaven to our hearts
But when, by ten, a hypnotizing fragrance
Taunts the hungry kids
Awaiting, anxious, their mid-morning oasis
It’s time to place their bids
Change in hand as the line grows restless
All loot must wield a price
Who ever said money can’t buy happiness?
Two Washingtons suffice
Bid farewell to summer and ring in the fall
In need of new books and pens
But buying more cookies comes above all
Wait, they’re an extra ten?
No longer two for a buck, the angels grieve in song,
Settle for just one
And four dimes fall, caught in my regretful palm
Never to see the sun
My bag, weighed down by ghosts of Roosevelt
My stomach, still void of you
You, cafeteria cookies, so cruelly withheld,
You, my source of virtue
Alas, the universe prefers high entropy,
And the order once felt
In a time more simple, frugal, heavenly,
Has died, crying for help
Oh, these glorious cafeteria cookies
Blessed by Iris’ rainbow gems,
Carried the grace and wisdom of Socrates
Each bite rich with M&Ms™
Nevertheless, I will not surrender
My values to my cravings
No, sixty cents, in all its splendor,
Shall never leave my savings