Our Spicy First Date

I still savor the thought of the zest that I caught When you joined us that night after school. Tara figured out why, since she’s so sage and sly; She left early to show it was cool. With her sis Tara-gon, Ginger sighed with a yawn, “My, it’s late!” to clue in that nut-Meg. “Would you look at the thyme!” came the reechoed chime, With a wink from Corey-ander pal Peg. Well, I felt like a god, though it seemed somewhat odd That they all should jus’ curry, but hey, When you gave me a smile as we two walked a while, It dissolved my perplexed caraway. In this teenagey bliss, I leaned in for a kiss, Little knowing what I was against: You demurred in a trice, “Though hot pepper is nice, I insist that it’s parsley dispensed.” With a panicky cast, I apologized fast In my chili confusion and dread, But I saw your eyes light, and we had a nice night Holding hands at the cinnamon stead. --- Credit where credit is due: I got the idea for this from Michael Wise's very original poem "A Spicy Story," posted here: https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/a_spicy_story_1100057