The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful
Life interrupting life.
The good, the bad, and the beautiful.
So, when I was a kid, I loved to write poetry. I was good at it. My friends praised me, my schoolmates praised me, and I praised them for praising me. My mom would love the written word and when it came to mine, she was blown away by it.
My dad was, “meh, get a job!”.
Fine, so far, so good. Everybody was impressed and I was on top of the world. Not to mention my production standards were high. Stratospheric high. I wrote day and night like a madman. My other passion, soccer, was an incredible stimulant.
See, when you play, you sweat and when you’re done sweating, you’ll hit the shower.
After the game and the consequent shower, my endorphins were at an all-time high, I think dopamine came to visit too,
It was a high, and as such, the perfect combo for writing.
Boy, did I take advantage of those moments. At times, I’d stay and hang out with the other boys but once I got the taste of the soccer/shower/poetry combination there was no looking back. It was a high like no other.
Signs of trouble started when my dream girl came into my life. Suzy.
Oh, Suzy, why did it have to be you?
We were the same age,12, and went to the same school and took the same classes. All that was fine. Better than fine, it was unbelievable.
Can’t lie, I fell in love with her beauty. Like me, of Italian extraction, her black and silky hair alone was a sight to behold. Her skin must have been porcelain in its perfection.
Her eyes could orient lost sailors on a stormy night and those lips of hers were made of raw strawberry flesh.
Needless to say, she turned my world upside down. I used to laugh when I heard friends say they couldn’t see straight when they got smitten. But then, I knew exactly what they meant.
I couldn’t believe that for the first time in my life, I couldn’t wait to go to school.
There was one day that I will remember forever for it has dug a deep and cozy corner in my heart. The day she said: ”I love you.”
Just like that, for no particular reason. One lovely early evening sunset, sitting by the boardwalk watching the sun melting down into the sea, she decided to drop that bomb. Suzy said she loved me.
I gave her a kiss that I doubt she’ll ever forget since words would have never matched the moment. It was one of those times.
“I read your poem,” She said, already blushing. “Was it meant for me,?” “Because you didn’t mention my name”
“I don’t think there’s anyone in the world that could inspire me like you do,” I replied. “Of course, it was all you”
A soothing breeze caressed our faces and refreshed our tight embrace right at the moment it was needed the most.
She picked that sitting, she planned it so, and she knew it was going to have the most effect on such an occasion. Smart.
Almost as if she consciously knew she was creating a great memory.
An unforgettable one.
Only later, she found out what a muse she was for my poetry. Even if I never mentioned her by name in prose, she was present in everything I wrote for years.
Suzy, the one who could have been, but fate had other plans for us.
Her dad got a major contract with a company in Germany and off they went, from a week to the next.
We barely had time to say goodbye and none of us could let go of that final love hug that carried so much emotion within its grip.
Hollywood would’ve been envious of that scene.
Incredibly, after the initial shock that lasted days, and maybe as a refuge of sorts, I wrote more than ever. Sometimes about her, sometimes about us, but mostly about the feelings that encompassed the entire young love experience. The kind that formed one’s character and the kind that leaves you with memories of your first great love.
The ones that will stay with you forever. No matter what happens for the rest of your life.
You broke my heart, Suzy!!