Qualities of Sugar

it is white and sometimes it is brown

on the kitchen floor it attracts ants

sometimes in the bag during the summer if it's kept low down on the bottom shelf you will encounter little black maggots, already dead, when you open the flap

it scratches your hands like you have been at the beach

when you try to wipe it off on your shorts it clings to your hands
and folds into little rolls of gritty dirty white in the creases
of your palms and between your fingers

it doesn't feel very good if you just put a tablespoon on your tongue
it can choke you, going down and then you need some pepsi

when you mix it with water in a clear glass it moves about a bit
and disappears

when you try to lift the whole bag by yourself and it rips and spills
like a tiny beach just for dolls on the tile floor then your mother will
be disappointed it can make her sigh

she lets you pour it into the bowl as she whirls the beater once it has been measured into a cup

you often add it on top of bread or cheese to see if they will taste better

you can spoon it on spoiling strawberries in a cup and then mash with a fork a few times then use that to fill shortcakes

when it is frozen in the form of a green popsicle and you and your brother will hit each other in the face to get it first

if you climb up on the counter you can feel it grit beneath your knees you may carefully knock over the jelly jar and splatter red sauce on the table leg

your dentist gives you lollipops, which have sugar

sometimes you can feel it eating away at your molars like tiny tiny
saws at the gum line turning your teeth black, diminishing them

there is nothing like a chocolate bar with it nothing in the world

sometimes at night it's all that's left and it's enough to keep you busy
a short while until your realize the house is empty
and you begin to howl