I loved the way
My little white dress
With the lace trim and pink satin ribbon felt
As I ran around the ballroom

Dodging the suit-clad legs
I pelted around the tables and chair adorned
With golden ribbon

Many times, someone would reach for my hands
Perfumed with the whispering traces of rose petals
And I would spin around and around
Giddy with delight

On one side of the room
Seemingly infinite tables stretch from wall to wall
Straining under the weight
Of giant goblets
Overflowing with candy

I would make a beeline for the sweets
Grab a plastic bag and throw in scoop after scoop
A pallet of colours
More vast than any rainbow I'd seen
Adorned my arms as I lugged bag after bag back to my mother
Who never once told me that eleven pounds of jelly beans was too much

And after a while
I stopped caring
That popcorn and watermelon shouldn't mix
And would pop them into my mouth
Without even looking

And when we left
At the latest time I'd ever been allowed to stay up
I snatched a last few
Of my favorites
To share at school the next day

I would eat them all on the car ride home
But I didn't know this.