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Wednesday, November 02, 2016

Tingled, but Entangled

“Remember when
we were first
thrust together
in that college
acting class,
instantly pulled together
with undeniable velocity?

Everyone could tell
when we performed
our class final exam,
a scene including
a kiss so passionate,
and prolonged
it was almost comic.

But you remember
the problem:
I was with someone else,
entangled,
so what we glimpsed
could only be hinted at,
sampled,
but never consumed.

We kept tiptoeing
around the borders
of our friendship,
pushing it
until something
or someone
was bound to break.

Then you got engaged.

What was his name?
Tim.
Right, Tim.

Something wasn’t right
because the electricity,
that tingle,
wasn’t extinguished.

Then,
I found myself
no longer entangled,
unfettered by neither
obligation and morality.

I made the offer,
you accepted,
and unclothed
between naked sheets,
we gave in
and it was everything,
every tingle promised.

In the afterglow,
you mused about
whether you should tell Tim,
and at that point,
I knew we were doomed.

I don’t blame you
for weakening,
for confessing.

I secretly think
you wanted out,
and you acted on that,

but It doesn’t matter now
because we haven’t talked
in thirty years,

and I can’t help
but feel guilt
and remorse and sadness
because I still miss you,

especially when I hear
that song,
that syrupy pap playing
when we made love

and drove any tomorrows
we may have wanted
over the cliff.

So,
I’m sorry, Katy.”
[And here's that song I remember.]

22 comments:

  1. This is excellent, engaging poetry.

    That is a terrible song. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, and the song is perfect in its awfulness.

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    2. That was me ... Nebraska.

      Stanza 4 is my favorite. Super hot.

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  2. Awwwww. This is so sad, and sweet. Well done, Sir. And thanks for all your generous comments this week! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, 'tis sad but not very sweet, I was.

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  3. I remember that song,smiles ~ Love the tingling tangled relationship ~ Perhaps its just as well it ended the way it did ~ Good one ~

    Grace

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  4. Gayle Walters Rose6:03 PM

    I was so hoping for a different ending...sigh. And yes, that is one sappy, bad song!

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    Replies
    1. Happy endings tend to happen in fiction. Thanks.

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  5. Anonymous7:01 PM

    The memories seem bitter sweet and somehow those always get tangled in songs!!

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  6. Bittersweet memories always seem to get tangled in songs!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, often against our wishes, thanks.

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  7. Anonymous11:49 PM

    wrenching...
    oh the road not taken can haunt me so! if only... but no. If it showed me what I should have seen, i was not ready at the time. Sometimes temptation is there to firm our resolve.
    oh my friend this hurts...

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, it was a painful hit - back in 1987, still hurts.

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  8. This is so sweet... and yet I cannot keep my self from wondering how it feels to be that Tim

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, and I'm always ready for a swipe upside my skull from Tim. I deserve it.

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  9. A nice example of a narrative poem, that has almost a medieval ballad quality about it.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, My morality was medieval, but that's about it.

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  10. Yes, an entangled web indeed...and memories that last forever because of it. Sadly, some of those "meant to be's" do end up over a cliff.

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