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Pezhead Monthly
May 2004

Cover and Table of Contents | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4

2004 Pez Poetry Slam (continued) top of page | cover page

The Raven Pez
By Joe Durrant

Once while in the town of Erie, on a day so bright and cheery,
I saw a book by Richard Geary at the local used bookstore.
There on Page the Forty-Second, something to me starkly beckoned,
With such power that I reckoned that I couldn't dare ignore.
''Tis a silly thing,' I whispered, closed the book, walked on, ignored.
And with that, I left the store.

Ah, how I recall the dream from which I woke with such a scream, so
Clear and vivid did it seem, it shook me to my very core:
It was in the Seventies, a summer day, a gentle breeze,
And the local pharmacy had no Pez, alas, no more.
Though I looked so ardently, Pez was not there, alas no more.
I ran out crying from that store.

I'm not one who's good at gleaning from my dreams their hidden meanings,
But it was so clearly seeming that I'd had this one before.
Yes, it happened after stopping at that bookstore for some shopping,
And that picture which was hopping off the page with such galore
Oh, that picture, it was hopping off the page with such galore!
Oh, to take it in once more.

Two long hours I had driven, so that I could be forgiven
For the woeful, pained misgiving that I had at that bookstore.
Yes, it took more than a while, but I had a growing smile
As I headed down that aisle, towards the book that I came for
Yes, I headed down that aisle, towards the book that I came for.
Towards that picture I adored.

At that place my journey ended, but not how I had intended,
For the Geary book so splendid wasn't there, not anymore.
In that dark, forever moment, I was hit with pangs of torment,
For my dreams had tried to warn me that this pain would be in store.
O, I should have seen it coming that this pain would be in store,
But instead I had ignored.

Months went by since that occasion; time had hid the devastation
Of the woeful situation I was in at that bookstore.
I moved past the deep regretting, past those dreams I found upsetting,
Till I nearly was forgetting what was once but was no more.
Yes, I almost had forgotten what was once but was no more,
Almost swept it out the door.

But there's no way of erasing that one image, so embracing,
That somehow I have been chasing ever since that day of yore.
And my trite defense, so brittle, was just like a flower petal,
Destined for a harsh submittal to the whims of the downpour.
I could not escape relenting to the whims of that downpour.
Relenting once, forevermore.

Still, how could I have expected I again would be subjected
To the brilliance that affected me right to my very core?
But when came that auction listing, there was no point in resisting
That my passion, still existing, turned from whisper into roar.
At that moment something in me turned from whisper into roar,
No longer to be ignored.

Like a moth drawn to the fire, I was blindingly inspired,
So determined to acquire what that picture showed before.
In my way there did stand nothing, so I clicked that magic button,
But soon after, in a sudden, I was in a bidding war.
It went on for hours long, this awful, brutal bidding war.
And I did not make that score.

"Cursed piece of plastic! How could you deny me, even now, when
I did all within my power to invite you to my shore?
Am I doomed to days of trying to obtain you, only finding
That my quest would be denied as it has been so done before?
Must this be my endless fate, to repeat pains I felt before?"
Something whispered, "Nevermore."

"Cursed piece of plastic! Who could ever hope to get to you, when
Time and time again you ruin any visage of rapport?
Am I better off assuming never will the day be looming
When I find you there, illuminating in that way of yours?
Will I always play the victim to that cruel way of yours?"
And again, "No, nevermore."

On the verge of outright weeping, I heard that familiar beeping,
E-mail, always towards me creeping, can't escape it anymore.
This one came from my good pal, a college friend from Palo Alto,
Who could boost my low morale whenever it was on the floor.
Oh, how I could use that boost, for I was nearly on the floor!
Nearly lost forevermore.

Reading his quite lively stories always brought to mind the glory
Of that college dormitory and those times from long before.
But this time his sole intention was to pass along the mention
That he heard a Pez convention was to be in Baltimore.
What was this? A Pez convention to be held in Baltimore?
This, I thought, I should explore.

When it came, the day was sunny, as I packed my clothes and money,
Hopping like a little bunny, heading towards my front door.
But when I hopped in my Saturn, I recalled the tragic pattern
That had left me bruised and battered time and time again before.
Would this be a rerun of the episodes that played before?
One last time, "No, nevermore."

Morning broke and doors did open, as I stood there, waiting, hoping
That my days of constant moping would soon be just mere folklore.
As I wandered through that ballroom, in a state of pure enthrallment,
There was Pez from wall to wall, but would there be what I came for?
Would I be denied the only single one I came here for?
Not today, not anymore.

In between the Cow and Panda was where I had seen it standing-
Somehow it looked even grander than the picture could afford.
Stem of blue and beak of yellow, eyes at once alive and mellow,
I leaned down and whispered "hello," not a victim anymore.
Oh, how my heart was so lifted, not a victim anymore!
Yea, I needed nothing more.

On my desk there stands a Raven, once a distant, formless craving,
Now a constant source of haven and a true ambassador.
When my days are dark and dreary, Raven Pez takes me to Erie
To that book by Richard Geary I once saw at that bookstore,
To the day I wandered to the aisle of that used bookstore.
I wander there forevermore.

There's a dream I'm oft retelling, so serene and so compelling,
Set exactly where that hellish one was set so long before.
In that pharmacy, a man does stock the racks full of Pez candy,
And when I look in my hand, yes, there it is, what I came for,
In my hand, this Raven Pez, this treasure that I came in for,
In my hand, forevermore!


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