Love in dark bars
Late into the night
Rarely lasts long
Seldom feels right
I never trusted
Romantic tripe
“Love at first sight”
Was just lust and hype
Broken hearted, naive
The job was a fit
But many nights
I wanted to quit
Dressed in white boots
Hot pants, bright pink
I spent the whole night
Serving drink after drink
I was just someone’s daughter
Trying to make a good living
Tips from men’s pockets
Made me forgiving
The kiss that was stolen
From my lips that night
Left me trembling with rage
What gave him the right?
I had to tell someone
I needed a friend
He got on his mic
Shouting “That has to end!”
Kind and gentle
Just as I hoped
He was my hero
While others groped
He stood on stage
Playing his guitar
The audience loved him
Up close and afar
Serving cocktails and shots
In a seventies bar
I was a no one
He was a star
“He would never do that”
I heard myself say
That was the moment,
That was the day
He moved through my world
Like so many had done
How could I know
If he was “the one”?
During a break
We planned our first date
For after my shift
It was so long to wait
Over burgers and fries
We laughed into the night
Too good to be true
I almost took flight
We became best friends
I compared him to many
He stayed by my side
With a love unlike any
A year of discoveries
Sharing a nest
Our journey together
Put my fears to rest
One night after bar close
A drive to a park
The love of my life
Proposed in the dark
Next night at the rail
Left hand in the air
My plans for a future
To all I did share
A bartender I trusted,
Believed was my friend
Hissed a prediction
That my joy would soon end
“I give it six months
You foolish girl
Do him a favor
Stay in your world”
Working through the night
Fear clouded my choice
He told me he loved me
Over the bartender’s voice
I let my heart mend
As he opened the door
To a life filled with joy
And so much more
Burning my boots,
Leaving that life
Despite cruel predictions
I became his wife
Fifty years later
We sit side by side
Children, grandchildren
We share with great pride
“I give it six months”
Still rings in my ear
But love at first insight
Left me nothing to fear
We’re a little old couple
His guitar he does play
This is our moment,
This is our day
About the Creator
DeEtta Miller
Found my "Voice" as a college student of forty-seven. Once a memoir was written, fiction, poetry and non-fiction became my passions.
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