Judy sat
in one of the seats
in the pub garden
and spoke
of the university course
she was going for
in the late summer
and you sat opposite her
watching her as she spoke
taking in her blue eyes
and her little quaint nose
and her dark hair
held back
with blue ribbons
and you remembered
the kisses
of the evening before
while she waited with you
while you waited
for the bus back to town
and how that last kiss
was held by you
all the way home
and packed away
in the mind
in that part
you keep
for good moments
and she stopped talking
and sipped her Coke
and you said
you want to be a lawyer?
yes
she said
I’ve always wanted
to be lawyer
even as a little girl
and you tried
to imagine her
in wig and gown
in some high court
cross examining
some criminal
or maybe defending one
and she said
I got that parcel
you sent me
that Mahler 6th symphony
in the box
you smiled
you shouldn’t
waste your money
on me
she said
I’m not worth it
of course you are
you replied
no I’m not
she said
but I love you
you said
I know
but although
I like you
I can’t say
I love you
as easy as you
say you love me
and she sipped her drink
and you sipped your beer
and you wondered
if you would ever hear
her say the words to you
but she never did
and so at the end
of the year
after the Christmas gift
she gave you
and the farewell kiss
you never saw her anymore
some things you want
you can’t have
no matter how much
you adore.
Dec 10, 2012
Dec 10, 2012 at 8:01 AM UTC
Judy sat
in one of the seats
in the pub garden
and spoke
of the university course
she was going for
in the late summer
and you sat opposite her
watching her as she spoke
taking in her blue eyes
and her little quaint nose
and her dark hair
held back
with blue ribbons
and you remembered
the kisses
of the evening before
while she waited with you
while you waited
for the bus back to town
and how that last kiss
was held by you
all the way home
and packed away
in the mind
in that part
you keep
for good moments
and she stopped talking
and sipped her Coke
and you said
you want to be a lawyer?
yes
she said
I’ve always wanted
to be lawyer
even as a little girl
and you tried
to imagine her
in wig and gown
in some high court
cross examining
some criminal
or maybe defending one
and she said
I got that parcel
you sent me
that Mahler 6th symphony
in the box
you smiled
you shouldn’t
waste your money
on me
she said
I’m not worth it
of course you are
you replied
no I’m not
she said
but I love you
you said
I know
but although
I like you
I can’t say
I love you
as easy as you
say you love me
and she sipped her drink
and you sipped your beer
and you wondered
if you would ever hear
her say the words to you
but she never did
and so at the end
of the year
after the Christmas gift
she gave you
and the farewell kiss
you never saw her anymore
some things you want
you can’t have
no matter how much
you adore.
Request permission to use this poem