Monday, 22 December 2014

Once in a lifetime

Oh to be seventeen again
feel the first stirring of love
when you don't know
what it is that has changed
within you, unfurling
like a rosebud
seeking the warmth
of the sun on its petals

Oh to be seventeen again
feel your heart race
like a steed at full gallop
Just a look
from those mesmerising eyes
and everything inside
melts into a gooey mess
like chocolate left out in the sun

The breath catches in your throat
the red blush of sunset
spreads on the sky of your face
at the touch of his fingers
you artlessly brush
as you hand him a cup of tea
that he leaves untouched

The liquid cools, unheeded,
much like you, unnoticed by him 
How could he not know how you feel
Surely it is visible in the
clear pools of your ardent eyes
Oh, he will see, he must, and
what's blossoming in you
will plant a seed in him

He will love you, he must,
you tell yourself
How could he not hear
the call of your heart,
as true as a bluebird's summer song.

Yet he is deaf
to your unsaid words
blind to the passion you hide
under a placid countenance 
He leaves, crushing
with careless feet
your hopes and dreams.

But your seventeen-year-old heart
does not yet know
what it is to break
With all the reckless ardour
of youth, it believes
  
Just a matter of time
just some more waiting 
His heart will tune in
to your song
Tomorrow, when he comes
you will see it in his eyes
It is meant to be
He will love you, he must
Your heart holds on 
to that thought, and
it is happy

Now, so many years later
the memory, still
indelibly etched
in your mind
The hope 
The despair
The tears
The heartbreak
Your first love
doomed to fail 

You smile now
wryly, sadly
He never did love you
He never realised
You survived
your heart mended
as best as it could
You moved on.You loved
but never in the same way again

That first love
Unsullied
Unparalleled
Unique
You love like that
just once
just once in a lifetime



© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved


No comments:

Post a Comment