When you are six
and visiting your Franna
you always check the candy dish
today you would find
miniature Reese’s Cups
and when you are tired
of playing Connect Four
you and your Franna
might build a tower
out of the checkers
in an ABABAB pattern
and you might fashion
a tiny crown
out of the gold Reese’s foil
and turn the licked-clean
ridged brown candy paper
into hair
that you place on top
of the checker tower
The Tall Queen,
you would say,
just as she falls
and splatters her checker parts
across the table
The Tall Queen
has fallen in battle!
you would exclaim
(methinks that may
be the influence
of your reading
Narnia books)
but at any rate,
a Shorter Queen seems to do
especially when you ask your Franna
for eyes and a mouth
and she gives you labels
and pens
so you can make them yourself
and in answer to your question:
No, I do not think her crown looks
too much like a Viking hat
although surely the Vikings
had queens,
just saying
(to me she looks like she stepped
right out of Wonderland)
but above all
I think the whole moral
of the story here
is that everything which enters
your realm
when you are six
has a purpose
and is
never wasted
lit bits and pieces 
I love how you captured so much of the day with your granddaughter. I especially was moved by the joy in envisioning and creating that weaves throughout this piece, something which I’m sure you’ve fostered and supported!
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Love this – tall queen – Scout – imagination. WONDER-FILLED!
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The moments you spend with your granddaughter are so touching and memorable. You make it all so special. I think my favorite line is she splatters her checker parts across the table. The pictures add so much. There is such creativity in the checkers, the art, the Reese’s paper. You work magic here, as always.
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This is perfect! Yes, I believe all things have a purpose to a six year old! I love the pictures as well. Reminds me of playing checkers and eating popcorn with my grandma.
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Such a magical slice of life! It captures the inventiveness and whimsy of playing with a six year old. I also hear the echo of a picture book I can’t name. . . Did you have a mentor text in mind? Or do you know which book I’m thinking of? Something in the cadence of the “you might. . .” So lovely.
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I didn’t have a mentor text in mind and so now I have to search picture books to see what might be stirring that cadence! First thought: It unfolds a little like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (without the “you might,” however). Thanks, Amy 🙂
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What wonderful memories you are making together, Fran. And your Slice brought up a few for me of my grandmother. Her candy dish was always filled with ribbon candy and there was always a bouquet of dried hydrangea on the dining table. Here’s to a summer of Sliceable memories!
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My grandmother also had a candy dish when I was a child – I remember lots of Super Bubble bubblegum in it, for us kids. I love revisiting those memories – I can taste the gum as I write – and also creating new ones for the future. A candy-dish legacy ❤
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Oh, six year olds and their imagination are just the best! What a fantastic poem to capture the whole feeling of enchantment and wonder in such a charming daily routine!!
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I love what you both have built here. The stories, the storytellers and the short queen rule!
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The Short Queen still stands on my countertop, reigning over our imaginations…. we also got some colorful magnetic building tiles and a cool castle is partially completed. You never know which way the story may go next…
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