The Chocolate Bar! Poem by Denis Martindale

My Dad had challenged me, his son
And you know how Dads are...
To see if I could last just one
Whole week, no chocolate bar!
No tasty treat for me to eat,
No tongue to melt upon,
No cheating with some secret sweet
Until one week had gone!

A silence fell and then he smiled,
That irked me to agree,
So there I was, his addict child,
Outsmarted as could be...
Yet did I have the strength of will,
Just seven days and nights?
Stay vigilant, remaining still,
Avoiding mini bites?

The first day didn't prove a thing,
I've gone one day before,
The second day meant wondering,
Temptations to ignore...
My Dad, of course, told all my friends,
To watch me like a hawk!
And should they learn of some pretence,
He bribed them all to talk!

The third day in and friends observed,
Each day I went to School,
No wonder that I felt unnerved,
Yet tried to play it cool...
The girls in my class were the worst
With chocolate fingertips
And standing near like they'd rehearsed
With chocolate on their lips!

Day five and I was going mad!
Just two more days to go!
Remembering the treats I'd had,
The joys I used to know!
Yet very soon I'd treat myself,
Spend savings from this week,
Buy choccies still left on the shelf
That my mouth craved to seek!

On Saturday, I stayed at home,
No friends, no girls, no way,
No chance upon my bike to roam,
So from my path I'd stray...
But TV adverts, my, oh, my,
You've seen the stuff they sell,
With choccie bars we're meant to buy
That ooze sweet caramel!

Thank God for Sunday, yes, indeed,
With hours left, that's all,
Dad hoping that I'd not succeed
And that I'd not stand tall...
He changed the time to catch me out!
That clock's a cruel trick!
But when I've gone eight days without,
I'll really make him sick!