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CHRISTMAS LINDA PART 1 - BRIEF ENCOUNTER
by Paul Curtis Snow spattered, unseen, against the steamy glass As the train rattled out of the station It was a fairly crowded train, but not full With weary shoppers, shopping bags bursting And commuting workers the weeks work done Journeying homeward at the dark days end A cheerful crowd though Pleased with themselves bright faced and hearty Full of seasonal cheer anticipating the holiday Seemingly oblivious to the drafty carriage I sat alone and felt lifted by the quiet jolliness Contemplating the collective countenance Of the self satisfied passengers Then she appeared and I was lifted higher There she was larger than life vivacious and self assured Covered with snowflakes and laughing to herself My snow angel, with snow covering her like sugar on a doughnut Wrapped up against the cold in a woolen hat and coat And a long knitted scarf draped about her neck She shook her head and her light brown hair danced about her shoulders And the snowflakes melted away from her soft curls There was a rosy redness on her cheeks Almost matching the hue of her coat Either from the cold winter evening or a liberal taste of Christmas spirit A little of both probably She made her way down the train between the seats Leaving wet snowflakes in her wake Full length coat swishing side to side She moved almost gracelessly, which suited her well As she tottered a little in her high boots Perhaps due to the lurching motion of the train Or the Christmas punch and eggnog She was still laughing softly to herself which also suited so well And then she saw me, and her eyes lit up like beacons Those wonderful sparking laughing eyes She stopped and stood momentarily open mouthed Then her smile illuminated the carriage My heart soared at the sight of her I returned her smile and she flushed a little deeper red It had been almost a year since I last saw her My lovely lost love, Linda I had locked all my feelings away but now they were back Like a door had opened in my heart and they all rushed out And I missed her so much I didn't know just how much till that moment We were never lovers, only ever friends But very special friends very close friends though no more We laughed a lot together, shared confidences Best friends but no more than that, Though I wanted more, so much more But I didn't want to lose what we had so I said nothing I loved her so much, but she was not free for me to love And Linda was not free to love me even if she wanted So I contented myself with our special friendship My unrequited love remained so If that was all then better that than nothing I was happy to love her unconditionally Then circumstances changed, my father died I had to move away and I didn't see her again, until now Now she was in front of me, my angel, larger than life Smiling, blushing, laughing and so lovely I stood up and smiled at her again She threw herself at me and she hugged me so tight I smelled her hair as I held her and was intoxicated by her scent All the old feelings flooded back over whelming me I had often dreamt of being reunited with her But never in my wildest dreams had I expect such a reaction Could it be my love was not unrequited? We sat down on the lumpy seats in the rattling carriage And were completely alone We sat looking at each other not wanting to lose sight of one another In case the spell were broken She removed a glove and put her hand on mine As if testing it was not a dream then she slipped her hand into mine Her delicate fingers so small in my grasp For the remainder of the journey we reveled in each other's company We caught up with the lost months filling in the gaps Still oblivious to our companions It was as if we had never been apart Then the train shook to a halt as all too soon we had arrived Our fellow travelers rushed off to their Christmases Reluctantly we left our seats and disembarked arm in arm Then hand in hand we walked slowly along the platform Still talking and laughing and then out onto the street Where the shops were now closing and the town was relatively quiet From one pub Noddy Holder screamed "it's Christmas" to the world Only the pubs and restaurants seemed to hold any attraction to most But we joined a small group gathered round the Salvation Army band And joined in with the carol singing in the town square Before strolling towards the taxi stand As the snow again fell onto Linda's soft curls We took our place in the queue of travelers eager to be home I was eager to be nowhere else but with her I shuffled along for the last few steps like a sulky schoolboy Smiling, Linda turned to face me and kissed me gently on the lips Such a warm sensitive and tender kiss When our lips parted she smiled at me coyly And flushed a deep shade of pink Then I kissed a snowflake off her nose Cupping her flushed cheek in my palm I slid my fingers beneath her hair Caressing the soft downy hair on her nape And pulled her sweet lips to mine and returned her kiss Her arms enveloped me holding me so close, so tightly Not wanting to let go, not wanting to lose what we had found Not wanting to lose me again We stood locked in our embrace as the snow fell softly on the scene She pulled away for a moment then buried her face in my neck And spoke "I've missed you so much, I've missed your love for me" I had waited so long for this moment waited so long to here those words To hear my love returned and then we kissed again Cabs arrived and departed through the slush The queue around us just kept moving as if unaware of our love After a while we moved from the queue sat on a bench and talked My love was not unrequited after all she felt the same for me She had always done so yet still she was not free She was torn between the two of us Torn between the comfortable familiarity for a good man A loyal and dependable man, safety And the passion she felt for a soul mate It wasn't fair on him he hadn't done anything wrong I had been on the receiving end of that kind of pain And I found myself unable to inflict it onto another So our love had to be a forbidden one Best friends no more, I wanted more, so much more And could not content myself with a special friendship Now I knew my love was not unrequited There was no going back, now Pandora's Box had been opened But at least now I knew she loved me With the same depth as I loved her We walked back to the taxi rank and kissed again in the snow All too soon she got into a taxi And through the winter wonderland departed taking my love with her With her palm pressed against the glass she craned her neck to keep sight of me Through the snow spattered window until the very last moment Till the cab had gone out of sight She was gone from my arms, gone from my view, gone from my life But a Christmas happening had changed my life forever A brief encounter, fleeting, here and then gone Her scent still in my nostrils, the taste of joy on my lips My soul mate gone forever, yet forever in my memory, forever in my heart I would never see her again and moved away in the New Year Making a life elsewhere but I never forgot her And when on a winter's night I hear the "Sally army" play Or when the snow falls during Christmas time Or I feel a snowflake on my skin I feel her small hand in mine and then she is once again in my arms And I smell her soft brown hair and the taste of her is on my lips I hear her say "I love you" and she is mine forever I am a fifty something family man with a passion for writing and I draw inspiration from those around me. paul.curtis1956 @ btinternet.com http://www.dreamagic.com/poetry/poetry.html http://www.peculiar-poetry.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |