Not Like Chocolate

A New Collection of Poems and Songs

The poems in this volume are mostly Not Like Chocolate. They are not sweet, although some of them arouse appetites without ever really satisfying them completely. They are not often soothing, although some are clearly intended to be funny. Some are best served with red wine, as dark chocolate can be with great impact. Some are light as milk chocolate, and most are more weighty than chocolate should ever be. All are the products of the my memories, dreams, fantasies, and reflections. Like most students of the poetic art, I have had many lives and more than one job and more than one appearance to the world. Even Kafka was a loyal and valued employee. In short, I am a man who has worked for many years on this planet, all the while believing that for me true reality was elsewhere. Despite that delightful handicap, I filled these roles over the years: Lover, Father, Husband, Scholar, Steelworker, Soldier, Spy, Professor, Salesman Buyer, Department Store Manager, Pharmaceutical Sales Representative, Sales Manager, Coach, Entrepreneur, Lead Guitar, Recruiter and more. So why not Poet? My goal in this consuming vocation is not to dazzle with great new revelations, but to arouse in you and in me, the joys of nostalgia and perhaps even inspiration. I hope you take them seriously, and enjoy them as if they were, in fact, just like Chocolate. C.G. Schott