Robbing Hood

My supervisor ambled by one day To tell me he was adding one more to my load: A juvie no other counselor could reach. What could I say? Gerry was a worldly-wise fifteen, A self-assured, well-spoken lad Whose attitude was such That nothing you could threaten mattered much. He had a history, this young man, A JD rap sheet that a decade spanned. But what was curious to me Was the final entry in his résumé. Shoplifting candy bars from supermarket shelves, I said. That seems beneath you, Given your transgressions of years past. He laughed. Skybars, Smores, Snickers, I amassed Enough to sweeten lots of dreams. You have a raging sweet tooth then, I said. No, he replied. Sugar rots your teeth and gives you zits. I was building up my stash for Halloween. I live in Tower 6 on Forty-Fourth and Elm. On Candy Eve the high-rise kids stay home, Kept inside to keep them safe. This childhood rite Held hostage to the dangers of the night. But this time round, this year when darkness falls, I will do trick-or-treating in reverse, Carrying my sack of lifted sweets Up and down each flight, down every hall, Knocking on every door where there’s a tyke (I know them all) And offering each one a reach into my bag, A taste of the tradition. Dumbstruck, I shed all my prior postulations Of this "delinquent," with his hoodie on And his air of I-don’t-care-what-happens-here. How often I’ve despaired of human nature, Doubting accepted wisdom there’s good in every heart, In every breast the seed of something fine. But not this day. 2/13/2016 Twisted Poem about Robin Hood Contest