The Chocolate Story Poem by Paula Glynn

The story starts in Mesoamerica,
450 BC fermented beverages,
Made from chocolate,
Aztecs to believe cacao seeds,
The gift of Quetzalcoatl,
The god of wisdom:
Gods to be worshipped,
The Aztecs with their traditions,

The cacao seeds,
To be used as currency,
Its value that great,
For chocolate to become,
The world's fate,
Like wine being made from the grape,

Chocolate to be a bitter liquid,
Spices and corn puree mixed,
A form of aphrodisiac,
Love's arrow to be fixed,
For love and chocolate did mix,

Nowadays these drinks,
To be known as Chilate,
By the locals of South Mexico,
Chocolate on the lips,
To be swallowed,
With a sense of desire,
With no need to think,
Such is the aphrodisiac of chocolate,
Even today, in the modern world,

The word ‘chocolate',
To originate from Nahuatl,
Word chocolatl,
The Spanish language,
Being used and to
Be entered into English,
The word ‘chocolate'
Now global,

Christopher Columbus to encounter,
The cacao bean on his fourth,
Mission to the Americas in 1502,
To be told the natives valued,
These beans, Christopher Columbus,
To term almonds,

‘For when they were brought,
On the ship together with their goods,
I observed that when any,
Of these almonds fell,
They all stooped to pick it up,
As if an eye had fallen'

Jose de Acosta, a Spanish Jesuit missionary,
Who resided in Peru,
The late 16th century,
To tell the time,
Of the history of chocolate,
He to say along the lines,

Yet a drink esteemed amongst,
The Indians, greedy of this chocolate drink,
In spite of the bitter froth,
And served as a beverage,
Once sweetened to be transformed,

Early 17th and late 19th centuries,
The English, Dutch and French,
To colonize and create plantations,
Workers to be poor wage labourers,
And African slaves,
Tragic times for those people,
Yet in history,
Always remembered,
And respected,
When eating the modern day,
Chocolate bar,

For solid chocolate,
The most famous Cadbury,
And Nestle starting late 19th century,
Chocolate to decrease in price,
1890's and 1900's
The taste all too nice,
Cadbury to be accused,
Of reliance on West African,
Slave plantations,
Scandal not doing the company good,
But advertising changed this scandal,
Cadbury the most famous chocolatiere,

Other chocolate companies to follow suit,
For customers to devour chocolate,
Instead of fruit,
Such as bananas and apples,
Chocolate bars and other confectionary,
To be flavoured with fruits,
Dairy products, like milk,
Nuts and raisins in other bars,

For in this modern world,
Chocolate is the star,
Worth trillions worldwide,
People loving its taste,
And variety of flavours,
Whether hot chocolate,
Or the sweet chocolate bar,
That makes life like music,
As if listening to a man,
Playing his guitar,
And telling the story,
Of those people,
Who made chocolate go far,

So when eating your chocolate,
Wonder if it is your choice,
Or if chocolate itself,
Is a signed contract,
By those rich chocolate companies,
Who easily deal with,
That chocolate sale invoice,
For beggars can't be choosers,
And chocolate is an addiction,
The world over,
This to always be so,
Chocolate always enjoyed,
When on the bus, on the sofa,
Or even just anywhere,
On the go.