Candy Cigarettes

by mcradloffPlatteville, Wisconsin, USA

Jul 2012 929 Views 4 comments

Candy Cigarettes

I bought them when I was little
Candy Cigarettes
I walked to the store in Rivervale, Arkansas
About a couple blocks from my Gramma Clay's shack
They came in a box that resembled real cigarette boxes
They were hollow
If you blew on one end
White powder would come out
It resembled cigarette smoke
The one end was red
It resembled the hot ash
You can't buy them anymore
They call them candy sticks
They have no ash
They have no red tip
Oh how I wish it were not so
How I miss those Candy Cigarettes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Posted: Jul 2012

About this poem:

Just thinking back to my childhood and some things that have gone away. I wonder sometimes if this smoking ban is worth it. Wouldn't people be happier if they didn't have to worry about everything they did could lead to cancer and death. I see the price they charge for cigarettes and I think it is legalized theft to charge 7 dollars for a box of cigarettes. I think there are 20 in a box, so that is 35 cents a cig. Bad or not, it is wrong to charge that much.

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Comments (4)

cherryreggaebayside, New York USAJul 23, 2012

Lmao...McRae I miss those cigs to I thought I was so

Smoking them with my friend

Idk I guess they band them so kids wouldn't get the idea to smoke. I don't smoke cigarette so it never made me really want to smoke...I'm trying to think after you smoke it was it gum lol

Anyway thanks for the memory that I had forgotten

swade777Grants Pass Area, Oregon USAJul 23, 2012

I'm another - 'non-smoker' that enjoyed (as a kid) the sugary taste of those... 'Oh, I'm so cool like James Dean' candy cigarettes!

You've hit upon a pretty good idea here mcrad..... what other childhood memories might we have in common to share and smile about as a poetic family?

One of my earliest childhood memories was in the making of toys to play with for being so poor to have store bought ones. One of my favorites was a 'stick-roller'. I simply took the metal lid of a discarded coffee tin, hammered a nail through the center of it into a long stick, and PRESTO .... a 'stick-roller'. If there were other kids to participate in the fun, they became 'stick-racers'. Hours of fun were spent rolling those lids around on the ground making thin tracks everywhere we ran!
Anyone else out there ever make Stick-rollers? You knew that you were at the top of your class when you had a Stick-Roller in one hand, and a James Dean Candy Cigarette hanging out of your mouth! :-)
"Oh.... and guess what? ..... I was just informed last night that I'm going to be a GRAMPA! My 24 year old daughter and her husband are expecting their first!!!

Time to go make some more Stick-Rollers!!!

Pass that candy Cigarette when you're finished with it!

mcradloffOPPlatteville, Wisconsin USAJul 25, 2012

swade777, thanks for your comment. I can't remember ever making toys out of cans, but I do remember making teepees out of black walnut stems in the fall and taking sticks and going out in a rain storm and playing races down the gutter to the bottom of the hill. I also remember the first dollar I ever spent, on 20 candy lipsticks.

mcradloffOPPlatteville, Wisconsin USAJul 25, 2012

jena_massie, thanks for your comment. I know what it feels like to be so tired you can't sleep. I hope you find your rest and enjoyment after the work is done.