I thought, ‘What have I gotta do to talk to you’.
Her eyes were bright and shining blue
And her skin was like Demerara.
At first I think I scared her
But I knew they don’t come any rarer than this.
So I said ‘peng’ and she said that’s her favourite word,
Because even then she didn’t have a clue how to flirt.
But I got her name and her name was Ella,
A pretty little bella from Kent.
So that was the first impression
Now if that was good, let me tell you the second,
Or at least what I remember.
It was still September
When we first slept together,
Through the fire alarm,
After an all-night bender.
I remember thinking fire or not?
I couldn't be anywhere better.
When she woke up,
I was going through her purse like a robber.
‘Coz I just wanted to know a little more about her.
She said her dad was a copper
But we didn't let that stop us.
From that moment,
I didn’t stop thinking about her,
That pretty little smile
With a well nice style.
Now for a couple of months,
She couldn’t string a sentence together
And didn’t stop saying ‘sorry’.
I’d say ‘stop saying sorry’
And she’d say ‘sorry’.
But most of that year was a bit of a blur.
I lived in a cave with the curtains drawn,
But who needed the sun
When I had her.
When she looked so beautiful,
(Like you always do)
And she kept her head screwed on tight,
While my screws came loose.
So, fast forward a year and she still looks at me the same,
With a giddy little glimmer that says ‘its all okay.’
She draws up my time table and files my work away.
See I was never insecure with her and we grew together.
Back then it felt like it would be forever
And I’d never felt that before.
I was sated and wanted nothing more,
Elated by the knowledge that you were mine,
That sublime little thing with a perfect heart
Second year was a beautiful mess.
It was up and down but she stayed bless.
Now I must confess,
It wasn’t all plain sailing,
We had people breathing down our necks
But we stayed strong.
And those were the good days,
Forestalling any trouble or responsibility
To tackle in the morning.
Then I knew that I was falling for those shining eyes
That still looked the same,
With a giddy little glimmer that says it’s all okay.
3rd year got tougher,
The honey moon period
Turned into a funny mood period.
She had a lot on her plate but always stayed strong
And we supported each other.
And when she lost her brother,
It felt like I was part of the family.
But after that, things changed
It was different.
We were a King and Queen, turned insignificant.
And our little cave shrank
And reality broke in
It slipped from clarity to melancholy,
And we let sadness in.
But she stayed strong,
Always level headed.
That year it rained for the first time ever,
The first stormy weather.
But we stayed together,
For better or worse
And I respect her for that resilience.
She showed me what strength is,
While I cried for a slice of divine providence,
And we parted for a while then,
But, to me, she was always present,
She never dimmed but just burned brighter.
She was always a fighter,
(And I guess you get that from your mother.)
While third round, I go down.
Grab the towel and wipe the sweat from of my face,
Watch my life go swirling down the drain,
While she stays the same,
Through thick and thin, she remains.
And burns even brighter
And I’m so happy to have felt the light that you radiate,
The strength that emanates from you.
And still you look beautiful,
(And still you always do)
It’s unbelievable that some jumped up fool could have been with you.
And I’m sorry
If this rhymes taken up too much of your precious time,
And I'm sorry
If I’ve made you cry,
(Again, or perhaps for the very last time)
This is just the story of how my life
Briefly went from wrong to right.
And it was down to Ella,
A pretty little bella from Kent,
Who’s favourite word was peng
And who never made sense
With her pretty little smile
And her well nice style,
Who apologised, for the thousandth time,
Again and again.
And when I look at you now you still look at me the same.
With a giddy little glimmer that says its all okay.
Author Bio:
A reflection poem on a relationship I had with a girl I met at university, from the very first moment, how it grew, with elation and sadness and all the bits in between... and how it ended.