Laura Daniels

Calandra on First Street in Newark
the best fresh French baguette and Italian roll
straight out of the oven if you’re lucky
the first roll’s gone before you drive two blocks

Metzer at Five-Points in Union
the best German-styled cakes and pastries
long before the Food Network existed
they made award-winning three-dimensional cakes
fire engines rolling to a call, princesses or enchanted gardens

Delicious Orchard on Highway 34 in Colts Neck
the best and freshest fruit pies—regular or crumbled
blueberry in the spring and peach in the summer
apple in the fall and mincemeat in the winter

Watson on Chancellor Avenue in Irvington
the best savory bagels—plain, rye, pumpernickel
buy them by the dozen and get an extra one
tasty with a smear of butter or cream cheese

Marvel on the main drag in Beach Haven Terrace
the best and tastiest sugared doughnuts
watch the conveyor belt by the deli deliver
drop golden-brown delights into a sugary tray
the sweet cinnamon embraces you at the door

 

---

LAURA DANIELS (she/her) is a neurodivergent multi-genre writer. Founder of the Facebook blog The Fringe 999 and editor of The Fringe 999 Poetry Forum. Curated recently in One Art, Journal of New Jersey Poets, Smarty Pants Magazine for Kids, and featured poet for Poetry for Mental Health. Her poetry collection Gentle Grasp (Kelsay Books) was published in December 2024. Her poems grow from a love of wandering and New Jersey, where she lives with her partner in Mt Arlington and works in the community garden. She can be reached at https://lauradanielswriter.wordpress.com and @thefringe999.