Musings by The Poet Loriet
High School Sweetheart
A young girl of seventeen
gazes up at the neon blue sky;
a girl with short dark hair
and curious brown eyes.
She looks at the people around her
as they sigh and shake their heads...
They don't understand!
They can't understand!
She sighs and dreams
of how it used to be
before her boyfriend
went into the Army.
It had been a fairy tale,
far too good to be true;
amusement parks
where he won her fluffy,
stuffed animals,
dinner theaters and
elegant restaurants,
senior prom and
graduation parties,
movies and pizza with friends...
They'd been everywhere together.
They had long talks
in which they discussed
their deepest hopes and fears.
He wished her good luck
before soccer games,
and she stopped in to see him
flipping burgers at Hardees.
They made out in
one-minute photo booths,
had their pictures taken
on Santa's lap together,
tackled baking
chocolate chip cookies.
They watched sunsets
and pointed out constellations
to each other
in the starry sky.
Why, there was even one night
when he tucked her in bed
(her stomach aching with the flu),
and pressed cold rags to her forehead.
He waited with her
til her parents got home,
and then had tiptoed out,
placing the teddy bear
he had bought her
softly into the folds
of her arms
(where he would've been
had she been well enough).
They spent a weepy summer
preparing for separation.
The day came, and she
rolled out of bed...
at four-thirty a.m.
She met him at
the recruiting station,
and drove him silently
to meet the bus.
At the station,
they held each other,
tears flowing freely
down their cheeks.
Promising to write,
they separated.
The girl watched
with glassy eyes
as the cruel bus
mechanically took
her boyfriend away.
Now they touch each other
tenderly with sentimental
letters...and work hard,
him earning his college tuition,
and her working on her
nursing degree while
earning minimum wage
at McDonald's.
He thinks of the ring
he will give her,
while she dreams
of exotic honeymoons;
but that's YEARS from now!
The girl looks again at the neon sky,
and wonders what the sky looks like
where Adam is...
She lets one tear
roll down her face
and dreams of the day
when they'll be free
once again.
*****This was written in 1987...
Below, is my 2002 answer to this*****
REMINISCENT
Seventeen years of naivete'
settled on her tiny frame
as she shakily watched
the neon blue sky thunder
and clouds roll over the sunshine.
With curious brown eyes,
she watched those she loved
with all her heart
shake their heads,
("They're much too young"),
throw up their hands
in puzzled exasperation,
never dreaming
that sixteen years later,
life would bring them full circle.
She sings sad, haunting love songs
as she gazes at the-now-gray-sky,
missing him once again,
after each of them have
been through separate lives,
other lovers.
She married another,
the wrong man,
but two angel-babies later
and a pending divorce,
she discovered that his embrace
had never lost its magic.
She wonders if she'd dare
to bare her heart again.
Losing him the first time
nearly killed her,
but somehow she found the strength
to carry on the charade.
The first time he came home
on military leave,
she couldn't tear herself away,
retreated to a bathroom stall
and leaned her head
against the wall
as sobs shook her body.
"I'm leaving on a jet plane,"
played on Muzak,
piped in
to the puke-green bathroom.
She can no longer remember
why she ever said goodbye,
finds an old card from him
sent soon after the break-up
that reads, "You'll always be
my favorite partner,"
and gulps down a lump of remorse.
Reading through old love letters
and the sentiments expressed,
she whispers to herself,
"That was true love."
Thirty-three years old
and still naiive,
she wonders...
when she can hold him again,
and if love
ever gives you a second chance.
What does his sky look like now?
Will their skies blend,
clouds swirl, colors explode...
Or will they collide
resulting in broken hearts
and stormy weather?
Can she believe in the dreams
that fill her foolish head,
or should she let them
blow away on the winds song
to lay forgotten,
the chance not taken?
The sky remains silent...
the answers hidden
in tommorow's horizon.
Lori Beal
gazes up at the neon blue sky;
a girl with short dark hair
and curious brown eyes.
She looks at the people around her
as they sigh and shake their heads...
They don't understand!
They can't understand!
She sighs and dreams
of how it used to be
before her boyfriend
went into the Army.
It had been a fairy tale,
far too good to be true;
amusement parks
where he won her fluffy,
stuffed animals,
dinner theaters and
elegant restaurants,
senior prom and
graduation parties,
movies and pizza with friends...
They'd been everywhere together.
They had long talks
in which they discussed
their deepest hopes and fears.
He wished her good luck
before soccer games,
and she stopped in to see him
flipping burgers at Hardees.
They made out in
one-minute photo booths,
had their pictures taken
on Santa's lap together,
tackled baking
chocolate chip cookies.
They watched sunsets
and pointed out constellations
to each other
in the starry sky.
Why, there was even one night
when he tucked her in bed
(her stomach aching with the flu),
and pressed cold rags to her forehead.
He waited with her
til her parents got home,
and then had tiptoed out,
placing the teddy bear
he had bought her
softly into the folds
of her arms
(where he would've been
had she been well enough).
They spent a weepy summer
preparing for separation.
The day came, and she
rolled out of bed...
at four-thirty a.m.
She met him at
the recruiting station,
and drove him silently
to meet the bus.
At the station,
they held each other,
tears flowing freely
down their cheeks.
Promising to write,
they separated.
The girl watched
with glassy eyes
as the cruel bus
mechanically took
her boyfriend away.
Now they touch each other
tenderly with sentimental
letters...and work hard,
him earning his college tuition,
and her working on her
nursing degree while
earning minimum wage
at McDonald's.
He thinks of the ring
he will give her,
while she dreams
of exotic honeymoons;
but that's YEARS from now!
The girl looks again at the neon sky,
and wonders what the sky looks like
where Adam is...
She lets one tear
roll down her face
and dreams of the day
when they'll be free
once again.
*****This was written in 1987...
Below, is my 2002 answer to this*****
REMINISCENT
Seventeen years of naivete'
settled on her tiny frame
as she shakily watched
the neon blue sky thunder
and clouds roll over the sunshine.
With curious brown eyes,
she watched those she loved
with all her heart
shake their heads,
("They're much too young"),
throw up their hands
in puzzled exasperation,
never dreaming
that sixteen years later,
life would bring them full circle.
She sings sad, haunting love songs
as she gazes at the-now-gray-sky,
missing him once again,
after each of them have
been through separate lives,
other lovers.
She married another,
the wrong man,
but two angel-babies later
and a pending divorce,
she discovered that his embrace
had never lost its magic.
She wonders if she'd dare
to bare her heart again.
Losing him the first time
nearly killed her,
but somehow she found the strength
to carry on the charade.
The first time he came home
on military leave,
she couldn't tear herself away,
retreated to a bathroom stall
and leaned her head
against the wall
as sobs shook her body.
"I'm leaving on a jet plane,"
played on Muzak,
piped in
to the puke-green bathroom.
She can no longer remember
why she ever said goodbye,
finds an old card from him
sent soon after the break-up
that reads, "You'll always be
my favorite partner,"
and gulps down a lump of remorse.
Reading through old love letters
and the sentiments expressed,
she whispers to herself,
"That was true love."
Thirty-three years old
and still naiive,
she wonders...
when she can hold him again,
and if love
ever gives you a second chance.
What does his sky look like now?
Will their skies blend,
clouds swirl, colors explode...
Or will they collide
resulting in broken hearts
and stormy weather?
Can she believe in the dreams
that fill her foolish head,
or should she let them
blow away on the winds song
to lay forgotten,
the chance not taken?
The sky remains silent...
the answers hidden
in tommorow's horizon.
Lori Beal
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High School Sweetheart
High School Sweetheart
