Last Date

Last Date:  A Poem by Steven Cash

August 23, 2012

What I’m Against: Dating where you aimlessly hop from person to person, leaving all involved heartbroken. It rarely ends well.

 

This poem is unfortunately based on a true story.

 

---

He said, “Hey, you’re pretty, I wish you were mine”

He asked me to dinner that Friday at nine

I could not refuse his words so heartfelt

His was handsome as ever, and his smile made me melt

 

I dressed with care, only picking the right dress

I spent hours choosing, and tossing the rest.

He came to my house in his shiny black car

He opened my door. It was good so far

 

As we bought tickets, he held hands with me

Told me he’d watch whatever I wanted to see

We shared the popcorn, and even a coke

And at dinner I talked and talked. He seldom spoke.

 

The months that followed were aptly the same

But I could not help but notice the change

The calls were more frequent, and the texts wanted facts

What I did, where I was, and things like that

 

I decided to confront him at 10 one night

His parents gone, at his house we began to fight

He said that he owned me, and that I was his

The sex we had before solidified this

 

I was repulsed by his harsh words

Believing I was only his was only for the birds

That’s when he disappeared into his room

I knocked and pleaded for him to return soon

 

And he did return, not a minute later and my shock only begun

There in his hand was a small handgun

He said if he couldn’t have me, then nobody will

He shot twice before I spoke, and I fell and lay still

 

Now my last date is with the guy at the morgue

He will never know the details of this story so torid

My family will cry, and my ‘love’ be in stripes

But was it all worth it just to be loved by a guy?

Reviews

[That1Nerd23]

This is incredible, Steven! You are a remarkable poet. I found this to be very moving and it left me anticipating what would happen. The Rhythm was beautiful and your words were clearly carefully chosen. Needless to say, I enjoyed reading this poem a great deal!

[Steven Cash]

OH, really? Thank you Jessa. Believe it or not, that was my first poem.

[Steven Cash]

Like, first ever

[That1Nerd23]

Wow, that is incredible! I personally think it's beautiful! Keep writing! (:

[Steven Cash]

i will, thanks

[That1Nerd23]

Excellent! You're welcome, my brother in Christ. ;)

[Steven Cash]

;)

[Falling Leaf.]

Ending was quite a shock. This was amazing. Well done!

[Steven Cash]

Thank you Savannah!

[Falling Leaf.]

No trouble at all

[TLK]

"But was it all worth it just to be loved by a guy?" You do have to stake quite a lot of yourself on finding someone to love. People lose their money when they make a bad choice, and realise too late. Some people lose their sanity, destroy their family, and end up being able not to see their children.

Love is a kind of madness, and that's not just a poetic distinction, but a psychologically researched empirical hypothesis that might well be proven one day. (Here is some opinion that's not research, I couldn't turn up anything better: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/human-bonding/200909/love-and-madness-in-las-vegas).

In putting our trust in a stranger, and hoping to know more about them in time, we have to make a leap of faith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_of_faith). Sometimes this goes wrong. But I suggest that we simply HAVE to make these leaps of faith, no matter how careful we try to beat about them. If you believe that the sun will rise tomorrow, that is a small leap of faith. It's hard to constantly remember to be skeptical, because it's possible that the earth will stop spinning or that the sun might disappear. Our life is a framework of these small beliefs, and we generally do not worry about them.

In the end, the dead woman acted as she must -- you simply have to trust other people. The problem might that she had too little help when he became increasingly angry: "The biggest obstacles for stalking victims today are the lack of direct victim support services and antiquated public policy. There is not yet a funding stalking victim service provider in the United States today, instead only a funded training center known as the NSRC, The National Stalking Resource Center. There are non-profit agencies in the U.S. that do provide no-cost support to victims such as Survivors In Action and Tri-County Crisis Center; however, these agencies resources are limited because of lack of funding." -- http://alexismoore.com/stalking-2/

Overall, I don't agree with the final line, as it seems to say that, in the end, it was her fault because she made a bad decision. It's not fair to blame someone for making a bad decision when they did not know beforehand that their partner would turn out to be crazy.

[Steven Cash]

I wasn't saying it's her fault. I'm just saying that she went blindly into love, as many do. Some don't make it out alive.

They stake everything on dating dozens of people for years, getting crushed, and hoping they find 'the one' after all of that.

[TLK]

I'm not sure how you can go into love anything but blindly. Is there a magazine that lists the specifications of all the possible makes and models of men, like a car buyer's guide?

[Steven Cash]

I'm not Anti-love. Just putting out this story, which is true btw, to raise awareness.

[TLK]

I'm not saying you're anti-love (that would be a pretty massive insult, in my opinion), but if the last line is directed at the reader, I have no problem. In terms of raising awareness, it's very valuable.

However, I had to re-read the poem because I started to think that the question ("But was it all worth it just to be loved by a guy?") was aimed at the woman, which would in some way impute blame.

Apologies for the confusion. I'm just really sensitive on this topic because a very similar situation has happened in my family too, and it's left me acutely aware of how attitudes about women contribute to them being abused.

[Steven Cash]

Oh, it was more of a question for the reader.
I wouldn't blame/ask questions of dead people.read moreOh, it was more of a question for the reader.
I wouldn't blame/ask questions of dead people.
And it's no problem.

[TLK]

"I wouldn't blame/ask questions of dead people."
That's a wonderful philosophy. You're an awesome dude.

[Steven Cash]

:) thanks