One perfect
so unusual
night
Like a song once adored
heard by chance
on the radio
A memory
Full of promise
never realised
yet still shining
in my mind
A reflection of
a different life
and different choices
made somewhere else
somewhere wonderful….
Starlight blazes
mirrored by city lights
strung out on anticipation
exhilaration and adrenalin
Spanish food
deep and redolent
shared by many
but still somehow
alone with you
Touching moments
of caring
Coat lifted to my shoulders
as we leave
Crowded together
just to be close
in the taxi
driving into
more of the night
Together alone
Out till early morning
when I never
do that
Dancing at 3am
to a song
I don’t even like
Thrilled by a crush
unspoken regard
and brittle, wonderful
attention
Drunk on life
whiskey for a teetotaler
giddy like the schoolgirl
I never really was
even when young
Belief for precious moments
Even I
solitary and contained
could be together
with someone
even me
Still it never realised
never came to be
Time burnt the intensity
to dying embers
never more than friends
not here, not then
But I still have
the memory
of that perfect night
So that now
many, many years later
I imagine some other life
another love, for me
Lived elsewhere
somewhere far away
Somehow more
happily.
(c) Helen Valentina 2013, All Rights Reserved
helenvalentina 
Well expressed…. beautiful poem.
Thank you! π
Each little snapshot says so much. Your last stanza is quite moving..almost..sad. Very nicely written.
Thank you so much, I do get a bit sad when I reflect back on that time of my life and the opportunities possibly missed, but then I suppose we make our choices for good reasons at the time and perhaps over-simplify it all later, so it was kind of just a feeling that maybe in another world I made different choices and it would be nice to think,if so, that they turned out well. π
Wow. Sensational! Simply & irrisistably!! sensational Helen!!
Thank you so much! π
Ahh! This is an excellent poem, got me feeling quite emotional! Reads like a piece of my life a long time ago – beautiful! π
Thank you so much – perhaps it comes through when something is very real and personal rather than reflective, or maybe we all have that one un-taken chance/love that we cherish, rather sadly, through the years… π
A bit of both I think! π I posted a poem on a writers website a few months ago about an old man looking out the window remembering about life when he was young and his first love. Obviously, it wasn’t my experience in the actual way I’d written it, and I felt slightly guilty when two men on there, one old, and one middle aged, both said it had them near to tears remembering a certain young woman!! A few choice words can be very evocative! And I’m sure none of us see ourselves as having the power to alter or stir up memories to that extent, but sharing experiences or thoughts really does have a lot of power! Very enjoyable, even if it is a little overwhelming sometimes! π