Almost fifteen. My friend, Debbie, and me,
Were dreaming of love and a boyfriend (or three!),
We sat in her bedroom
one late afternoon,
Eating some snacks as we listened to ‘tunes’,
She had this small player—held one ‘45’
Two teenagers trying to keep angst alive.
Then she placed a new record on top for a spin,
“Ooh! Listen to this sweet one I just got in!”
And, for the first time I heard Paul Mauriat,
Piano and strings in a brand new format.
And before ‘Love is Blue’ fin’lly
played to the end,
I was totally in love with it, just
like my friend.
But, oddly, for teenagers dreaming
of love,
It did something else, (What were
we thinking of?)
Our class had been reading The Lord
of the Flies,
The one with the schoolboys (where
somebody dies),
And Debbie talked on ‘bout when
Simon was stabbed
By the boys he called friends. Well, it just made her sad,
And she pictured that body out there on the beach,
All by itself, and no help within reach,
Well the thought made her cry. And just then on the air,
Came this song about love, but it had her ensnared,
Thinking of Simon. The tide coming in,
And tenderly lapping his hair and his skin,
Well, I told you the thought of it just made her cry,
She decided right then that she just had to buy,
Though the rest of the world heard with love on their minds,
Deb’s and my thoughts were a far different kind.
You know, more than fifty years passed since that time,
That day (decades later), would look so sublime,
When Deb had me looking at something quite grand,
From a far different angle than the writer had planned.
I wish I could go back—be fifteen again,
Playing those records—of love and of pain,
Our whole lives ahead, no idea of strife,
But making us ready for our future life.
 |
| Photo Credit: Karen of bakinginatornado.com |
With poetry, we all besought
To try to make the week begin
With gentle thoughts,
Perhaps a grin?
So Karen, Charlotte, Mimi, me
Have crafted poems for you to see.
And now you’ve read what we have wrought…
Did we help?
Or did we not?
Topics for the next few weeks (with a huge thank-you to Mimi, who comes up with so many of them!)...
Peculiar People (January 10)
Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions (January 17)
Opposite Day (January 24)
15 was such a tough age for me. It's when I lost my father and my life changed overnight. Now 14, was a great year!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful memory. Looking at things from a different perspective is so often a gift.
ReplyDeleteI loved that song too. Some songs stand the test of time, and that's certainly one.
ReplyDeleteI had to re-hear Love is Blue. I always did not quite like it, as it could be (could have been?) Beautiful, but was only haunting. Lord of the Flies I read in school as well and disliked it then with an intensity nearing hate. I still avoid it.
ReplyDeleteBut your verses are as usually brilliant Thank you.
If only - the lament of the middle aged and elderly. Those memories of listening to music with a girlfriend!
ReplyDeleteWhat a haunting memory. As usual, you tell your story beautifully and in rhyme!
ReplyDelete