I have a picture of you,
In my wallet,
It’s a little the worse for wear
But I treasure it
I’m sure you’ll remember
it
It was on the sea
front
That last day I spent
with you
I thought it was a
happy day
You seemed happy too
I often study that
little snap
Looking for any tell
tale signs
But if they exist,
they evade me
It doesn’t show in
your eyes
There’s no hint in
your smile
But still you left me
She leaned her face towards me
Slowly, yet purposefully
And touched my lips gently with hers
For just the merest moment
A single spinetingling moment
Then she stopped
And pulled her head away
Looking deep into my eyes
With a commanding gaze
Which demanded loudly
That I should reciprocate
I wrapped my arms around her waist
Pulling her close to me.
When our lips met this time
They parted on contact
And our tongues flicked
Vigorously exploring each other’s mouths
It was my first real kiss
And what a kiss it was
A toe curling
Nerve tingling
Sweet moment of bliss
My heart carries too many sorrows
Now my yesterdays out
weigh my tomorrows
My spirits sit low in the
grey December light
My bones grow weary in
the night
I long for the spring
sun upon my face
Yet I know that can
never again be the case
I wait now in the
quiet of another night
In hopeful expectation
of the benevolent light
Martin Price was staying at the Shallowfield
Lodge Hotel at the head of Teardrop Lake as he did every summer as the view of the
lake from the Hotel was spectacular.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its
name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forrest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles
long and almost a mile at its widest point.
It was beautiful and relatively unspoilt which was one
of the reasons he chose it.
A lot of fishermen, walkers and avid bird watchers gravitated to the
Finchbottom Vale.
Teardrop Lake and the surrounding woodland was
privately owned and divided into twelve parcels of land, each with one
significant dwelling on it, although there were a number of cottages dotted
around the forest as well, some in use and some not.
It was both idyllic and peaceful, and there was
little or no noise pollution and although the lake was used there were no speed
boats or jet skis, only rowing boats, canoes, dinghies and skiffs.
But he wasn’t there just for the scenery and he had
spent the first week of his holiday reacquainting himself with some of his old
friends while making some new ones along the way, that was after all what he
loved, he was first and foremost a social animal, but the one thing that Martin
definitely hadn’t gone to Teardrop Lake for was to fall in love, but he did so
nonetheless, not once but twice.
But it wasn’t just socializing that brought him back
to Teardrop Lake year after year, because he did enjoy the Dancingdean Forest
and his Lakeside walks immensely.
On one particular occasion he took a longer than usual
walk owing to the larger than usual lunch he had consumed when he ran into Paula
Rees, who worked at the Lodge along with her best friend Kerry Long.
She looked rather lost and lonely without her outgoing
and bubbly sidekick Kerry.
Paula was a quiet, caramel skinned beauty who lived in
the shadow of her more confident pale skinned friend.
The fact that she was adrift was evidenced by the
rather pathetically forlorn creature that was ambling towards him.
“Hello Paula” he said
“Oh hello”
“You a bit fed up? Are you missing Kerry?” he asked
“Yes” she sighed “and she’s only been gone a few days”
She looked rather sad, which was possibly what tweaked
at his heart strings, but unbeknown to him this chance meeting was anything
but, because despite her being a fresh faced 20 year old student she was no
innocent.
Being make up free made her pretty rather than
beautiful but she knew how to use what she had with subtlety.
However Martin’s only thought was to cheer her up and put
a smile on her soft lips, while she was lost and alone, he should have known
better as he had fallen into that trap already with her friend, but he thought
it truly serendipitous to meet her at the time.
Her friend Kerry on the other hand was cut from
different cloth which was the most fundamental way in which she differed from Paula.
Kerry didn’t do things by chance, and she never went
out without make up and when he had met her a few days earlier walking down
that lane from the lodge it was because she had planned it that way whereas
Paula was more haphazard.
It was down by the jetty where he met Kerry, supposedly by chance, and Martin
was preparing to go sailing.
“Hello Mr Price” she said
“Hi Kerry, Please call me Martin” he responded “Only the tax man calls
me Mr Price”
“Ok” she said with a giggle “Are you going out on the water?”
“Yes, do you want to come?”
“Yes please” she replied
They were out on the lake for about an hour, sat at the stern of the dinghy,
either side of the tiller, when suddenly in the middle of the lake the wind
fell away and they were becalmed.
“Well what are we going to do now?” he asked
“I’m sure we’ll think of something” she replied and pushed the tiller
aside and kissed him.
For the next ten minutes the becalmed dinghy skipped and splashed on the
calm water as Kerry took his heart from him, which was precisely what she had
wanted to do.
“That was lovely” she said as she stepped out onto the jetty but despite
Martin expressing a desire to see her again she declined she was a capturer of
hearts, and now that she had his she had no further use for him.
Your tender touch
Meant so much
I miss your touch
A touch too much
Your tender touch
That was nonesuch
I stop, I reminisce
That perfect time I
miss
A smile, a look, a
kiss
A moment of bliss
Sweet reminisce
Paramour in the wings
Mistress in waiting
The smitten kitten
With the concubine
heart
