Donna

My friends would never leave her be each passed and gave her a wink One could see, it was not to be it was driving me to drink.

Donna at 40

She was so stunning in her youth

my breath ran short when we met

She caught my eye, and with a sigh

had left me in a cold sweat

__________________

I pursued her relentlessly

'til finally she gave in

A beautiful mind,what a find

a cross of beauty and sin

_________________

My friends would never leave her be

each passed by her with a wink

One could see, it was not to be

it was driving me to drink

_________________

Adoration grew in my chest

but time told a different tale

We had distressed, what beauty blessed

as in time our love grew stale

_________________

"You're too much woman to be fair

I can see that now so clear

Such beauty's rare, a cross to bear

I have to let go my dear"

____________________

We're  beauty for a fleeting day

that fades with the loss of youth

Forget and may, upon us weigh

the merciless pains of truth

Author's Note

I was Donna's friend many years after that.When we broke up I had injured myself so badly I wondered if I would recover. We met now and then in Louisville where I once raced and called my home. I remember telling her that children would help her in old age. But to her defense she was so intoxicating at 21, I wouldn't have listened to me either. She had lost her boyfriend when I last met her at 40 and had no children. Still beautiful but injured like the first time you make a child cry. Her own parents were very old by then. My heart bled for her. For truth be known I had loved her since the day we met. That was 10 years ago. I haven't heard from her but once since. Yet fresh in my mind as if yesterday I remember her wounded. How it cut me so deep I cried! Hers was the eternal beauty of Cleopatra, both inward and outward her light shone bright. I had been blessed to be her friend.
I adored her father and mother as well. It was easy to see where her beauty came from.

Reviews

[David Lewis Paget]

It takes courage to renounce the thing you want most. I doubt if I could have done it, Tate, which necessarily meant that in my life, I was the one left, never the one to leave. You had the foresight to avoid the pain of future indiscretions, though you didn't get off scot free. There is always the needle of nostalgia to aggravate the wound.

[K. D. Kromminga]

Its a great thing to have such a rich a varied life to draw experiences from. I can see it come out in your poetry. Is there a hint of regret that I hear in the subtext of this story? We all have our own paths in life, sometimes we are walking the same direction as another for awhile and get to enjoy their company, other times we have to walk alone.

[KAREN]

Beautiful written, and with heart felt passion!

[Sophy.]

I'm moved by this, especially after reading your author's comments. This seems like a true tale of "The One That Got Away". Sometimes when we try to do the right thing for someone, it ends up being wrong for us both, or seemingly wrong for us both. That's the thing about life. We can never truly know what the right or wrong choice is or what the consequences will be. This was a beautiful write, though.

[Suzy Q]

But I guess that's what they say, if you love something, then let it go.

[Leigh]

Beautifully written, about a beautiful person to you, so sad as well, the poems about real life accounts always have an advantage as they are 'undoable'. I very much admire your use of and explanation of the structure of the poem. You are magic

[Epipsychologist]

I once wrote, as a reminder to myself, "If you ever get the chance to walk away cold again, do it." And still every time that I know that I should let "her" (whoever that is) be the one who regrets not turning back I feel an apocalypse-desperate need to turn back. Eve when I don't, I replay that moment in my mind when it might have been different.

[LA Lorena]

This is a very sad poem Tate, but told with such a voice of compassion and understanding. I appreciated your fine attention to rhyme and meter also, as this reads beautifully. Sometimes it is not so much just the words we say that matter, but how we say them.

[Tomás Ó C..]

Beautiful poem... poems of heartbreak are often the best...

[Patrick Henry]

I know all about rhymes and forms and other things of the like.... but this poem has to be the hardest one on this site for me to read. There are many issues and fears in this poem that I might NEVER discuss, and reading the words you place upon the page, proves to be more difficult to read than I would have originally thought. I had to return to this poem, but a few times already over the period of a week's time or so. Man..... and then to top it off, I read your Author's Note. THAT was almost harder to consume than your actual poem!! lol It's easy writing "I'm sorry"...... but it kinda sucks to write it and REMEMBER writing it because something made that kind of impression on you. It creates a strange connection with me...... great job. Forms, lines, whatever you did.... in the end, it just works!! -Mark

[EMMIE]

wow...that was AMAZING...I don't know what else to say...sweet turned into sour, but what a beautiful poem. I don't know what a break up feels like but that last stanza...very emotional. I think this is one of your best