First Night: Love

This piece is dedicated to the memory of Percy Sledge, 1940-2015; Also dedicated to my most beautiful wife, Dee, and the night we met

First Night: Love

 

The night was angelic, though neither had seen

The threshold about to be bridged.

The smoke rings encircled the harsh bar room lights;

Our eyesight, by liquor, was singed to the point

Of ambrosia, nectar of gods

Glowing bright.

 

Our blurry eyes met, ‘cross the proverbial room,

The lightning bolt shock made the star-crossed

Encounter hasten the flowers to bloom;

The lost time tripped slowly, the clock rang ‘hello,’

For two broken puppets’ incentive to grow

Into lovers ensconced in a love they had lost.

 

Their previous loves had both crashed on the rocks

Barely surviving the wounds they sustained,

While licking these wounds they had both ascertained

That the risk of enduring another such pain

Resembled a cloud made of blocks;

Remembering the clock and the time that remained.

 

Their time had arrived and they both took that leap

Over heaps of self-doubt and the pain wrapped up in

The ghosts of their dismal dark pasts.

Their joint lots had been cast for a new

Day to begin,

Enabling their new love, enabling love’s sleep.

 

dan © 2015

Music: "When a Man Loves a Woman," by Percy Sledge

 

Author's Note

Reviews

[Nadia Gerassimenko]

What a sweet tale of two loves meeting and even through uncertainty, taking a leap of faith, and ending up with an ever strong bond of love and friendship that lasted for so many years and still keeps sustaining. Fate and same painful experiences brought you two together and made you whole again.

[dan]

Nadia, That night happened almost 23 years ago but the love still seems fresh and new. Thank you for the review. take care...dan

[EileenMarie]

Great imagery. Captivating from the start. Beautiful poem!

[dan]

EileenMarie, Thanks for visiting and doing the read/review; thank you also for the kind words. take care...dan

[Alisa Js]

Aloha dan,

What an incredibly touching tribute to your heartbeat...

Thank you for you comments on my work, looking forward or reading more of your thoughts. I will be back.

Alisa💫

[RiverRei]

This is cute :) I liked it a lot. I didn't meet my man in a bar, but I do remember the first day we met like it was yesterday and it was the same sort of effect. We saw each others, our eyes locked and I was stuck forever lol. I still see him walking towards me in his green, plaid shirt. Thank you for sharing this with me and reminding me of my own lovely moment with my man :)

[dan]

River, When I met Dee she was dressed like an Native American squaw, with a feather in her hair and a brown fringed dress...gorgeous. Her workplace had dress-up night for Halloween. I have no idea what I was wearing but only that it was not a costume. It's funny how we remember such details, isn't it? Thank you for your nice review. take care...dan

[....................]

A fine tribute to your love and what a fitting song to accompany it at this apt time. Well done, dan... there's no need to delve into this one... the love here speaks for itself!

[dan]

FT, my wife and I used to listen to this song on the jukebox in the bar where I used to work, so when Percy Sledge passed I felt I owed it to him (and Dee) to write a tribute to our love backed by his soulful singing. Thanks for the read/review. take care...dan

[....................]

Sweet! Your love shines through, dan!

[Kelly Scheppers]

I just heard about his death this morning...what a voice! You've penned a lovely tribute here, Dan...it just goes to show the depth of your compassion, and heart!

[samanthaashley_]

very interesting piece! I really like the beginning.. it definitely captured my attention, which is hard to do. I like writing poetry, but often get bored even rereading my own work. I like the foreshadowing in the beginning, which didn't give too much away. and the descriptive language throughout the whole piece was great. I really liked the line, "The smoke rings encircled the harsh bar room lights", just because I could really picture myself being in that bar, witnessing everything you wrote about. and the "blurry eyes" detail made me feel like I understood what it was like to be one of the two people you were writing about. overall, I don't have anything negative to say! I really enjoy your style of writing. -Sam

[dan]

Sam, I'm flattered by your complimentary words; this is a true account of the day 22+ years ago that my wife and I met and almost instantly knew that it was real, it was love. We had both been married once before so we were both leery, but we quickly gave in and said, "Let's go for it!" Thanks so much for your review, and I think I told you when I reviewed your work that I really like your style also. take care...dan

[modtoddinc]

Amazing write my friend, I find it ironic that I played this very song for my wife yesterday, (RIP Percy) and was moved to write my own love poem... I tried to post this video to her fb page and for some reason it didn't post. Then in the night I couldn't sleep as I was thinking that I wanted to write about my love for her based on the earlier attempt/fail I made (simply trying to post this video to her page), anyway I have spent this entire day writing and just now posted my own poem. Then I noticed your rr, so here I am... small world, Anyway about your poem:

It is excellent in it's realism and flow, I am impressed with your ability to create a real life experience in words that carry the reader from their own experiences into yours. I would not say that I 'Know' your experience, but rather feel it through the poem. These lines:

"The lightning bolt shock made the star-crossed
Encounter hasten the flowers to bloom;
The lost time tripped slowly, the clock rang ‘hello,’
For two broken puppets’ incentive to grow"

carry such rich meaning and truth for me, I intuit them deeply. Thank you for sharing this with us Dan, I truly enjoy reading and sharing poetry with you.

~peace, Todd

[dan]

Todd, That story is quite ironic. My wife and I did meet in a crowded bar some 23 years ago. The few times after that when we went to this same bar I always played this song for us on the jukebox. So we both shed a tear hearing about Mr. Sledge's passing yesterday. Thank you for the complimentary remarks, but I must confess that when I write for Dee I kind of lose myself and the poem practically writes itself (accompanied by this song, of course). Best of luck and love to you and your wife, may your love be at least as long-lasting and memorable as ours. Thank you for the read/review, and I feel the same about our poetic friendship. take care...dan