Georgia Peach

there's one flavor of ice cream at this
parlor on Old 22; it's a soft orange color
& it rests nestled between the black forest 
& peanut-butter tin roof sundae flavors. 
the parlor itself is like an island 
in the middle of quilted corn fields
& vineyards. we stopped there yesterday.
i hadn't been there since middle school but
the place was all the same; same christmas 
lights strewn through the trees in the courtyard,
same italian rum-cake behind the glass 
of the bakery, same infinite rows of
homemade chocolates in the candy shop;
mint melt-aways, maple truffle, caramel-filled.
occasionally i believe the whole place might
have been a reoccurring childhood dream,
but now we both know that the place exists. 
yes, i started off by talking about the flavor, 
Georgia Peach, because it always reminds 
me that there's a period of time 
when we're younger that we haven't decided 
on our favorite flavors yet. i was a small
human enthralled with flavors & combinations.
one time i begged my uncle to let me get
a triple-scoop & he caved. the top one
was a classic: mint chocolate-chip, 
the next, another standard: chocolate marshmallow,
& then all the way at the bottom: Georgia Peach. 
i've never technically been to Georgia 
(but we did fly over it once on the way
Disney World) but when i got down to the bottom
scoop i imagined Georgia was a state 
where everything was tinted this mild orange 
color & there would always be the faint taste 
of cold peach on your tongue.
i don't think i ever got the flavor again,
not because i didn't like it but because
there were more flavors to try. i don't
think that i want to eat it again either,
i think i'm happy with however i remember it.
maybe someday we'll all go to Georgia &
figure out that i was right, we'll be driving
& see the state line marked in orange
& the sky muted & calm clementine colored.
we'll  stop on the side of the road just
to  open our mouths & i'll tell you that
it tastes like an ice cream flavor
from a parlor i used to go to when i 
was a small person who didn't have
a favorite flavor of anything yet.