Me, Love, Eva, and one Identified Male

Eva said she would be waiting if I came by her house,

She was there on the porch, wearing jeans and a blouse,

Looking casual with her pants tucked into her boots,

Over one shoulder was draped her swimming suit,

Although I wondered about that, I still had my smirk,

I was excited and impatient, just off of work,

We had talked about swimming at our last dance,

What we would do also if we got the chance,

Our bodies said a thousand things without talking,

As we floated across the floor, barely walking,

I felt that sexual itch as she moved with sinuous grace,

Although my steps quickened, Eva kept up with my pace,

I did not want the dance to stop, or to ever let her go,

But she returned to her partner, despite her fevered glow,

If only she had been with me we’d never have to part,

She was a breath of fresh air, into my lonely heart,

She bumped into me once as she went to fix her hair,

And in my pocket I discovered a note she had placed there,

Eva’s phone number, her address, a place we could meet,

All the important things so we could later greet,

When I called we soon became fast friends,

We were soul-mates, sharing even the latest trends,

We had much in common, but I wondered about her man,

“I can’t tell him yet,” she said, “Please try to understand,

I want to be with you,” she paused, “but he’ll never set me free,

I’m not sure just what he’ll do, but he’ll never let you have me,”

Such ominous words Eva said and then cried that night,

But fearing to love is like fearing to breathe, “I’m ready to fight,

You are the one I want,” I said hoarsely, “But tonight,

I want to love you, kiss you, and make you truly mine,”

“See me tomorrow,” she said, “when you first get off work,

I know a place we can be alone, and no one else can lurk,”

We would talk by the river, with the moon as our guard,

Lock up our common sense, and then our clothes discard,

Turn our imaginations loose and let our love run free,

We would love until the morrow, under the tall oak tree,

Now I could see her waiting but pacing back and forth,

I was coming from the south but she kept glancing north,

In front of her yard a car came to a slow stop,

She stared but there was no time to move or drop,

I saw a gun appear and then the sudden flash,

A window shattered, another one suddenly crashed,

I couldn’t just wait until the man had emptied his gun,

Love sparks courage, to me the war had just begun,

I aimed my car, pushed the pedal, and felt a satisfying crash,

I was going for the gun but into me someone did smash,

The police arrived a little too late for this important date,

Quickly I was on the ground, handcuffed, ready for my fate,

A SWAT team had been two streets over, finishing up a drug raid,

They were not in a mood to listen, their minds already made,

I was out of control, according to what the police had seen,

Then Eva arrived and saw me, and tried to explain the scene,

The three of us were taken downtown to sort out this mess,

Trying to determine who was wrong, at first was anybody’s guess,

Gradually reports came in from detectives who verified her tale,

Finally I was out, but also released was one identified male,

In the custody of his lawyer, who was as crooked as a dog’s hind leg,

The lawyer knew judges and got what he wanted without having to beg,

But I had been touched by love, for me it was a permanent bond,

I went back to Eva’s house, wanting her, needing her to respond,

I knocked once, twice, but she refused to open the door,

“I love you, I truly do,” she said loudly, “but I think I love him more,

I know he’s a little misguided, but he loves me just the same,

He wouldn’t have missed if he didn’t love me, to him it’s just a game.”

Confused and disheartened, I could no longer be part of this strife,

I was still in love with Eva, but I had to get on with my life,

Part of my heart belongs to her, but I’m alive to tell this tale,

The two of us couldn’t fit in her heart, me and one identified male.

Terrified of the Dark

Terrified of the Dark

          There are things that once terrified me. My childhood dreams were sometimes filled with creatures of the night and situations I could not get out of.   In the daylight I was afraid of spiders, bees, heights, tight enclosed spaces, and snakes. There are even more phobias, but I was never afraid of the dark.  I thought everyone was like me in that respect but I soon learned that is not true of all people. Some people are terrified of the dark and of things that darkness contained.  In other words, they were afraid of the dark and things that go bump in the night.

          One evening long ago, a group of young men, which included me, was sitting around bored, waiting for something to happen.  “Do you want to see something really cool?” one of them asked.

      We looked at him with interest.  “My grandmother has this old house and it is really interesting.”  He gestured with his hands.  “It’s big, has not been touched for years and it’s really creepy. It’s been in the family and there are things that I cannot even describe. I know it’s getting dark but we’ll bring flashlights.  If you’re scared you don’t have to go.”

      Not only were we bored with doing nothing, but now he had thrown down the gauntlet.  It was a dare we could not refuse and still save face with the others.

          A few miles away and an hour later, it was dark.  The group was led single file into a dilapidated old house covered almost entirely with ivy.  Our escorts walked ahead of and behind us, careful to light the way with their flashlights.  We went from room to room, getting deeper into the house.  Suddenly, our escorts disappeared along with their lights and we were left stranded.

     There was not a sliver of light.  We did not communicate, being careful not to be first to break ranks or show any hint of being afraid. I backed up until I reached a wall, trying to get my bearings and to gain composure.   In the silence, we were left with only our heartbeats.  What seemed to be agonizing hours was in reality just a few minutes. 

     “Whoosh, whoosh!”  Something broke the silence and continued in a broken pattern.  “Whoosh, whoosh!” The sound seemed to be getting faster and more desperate but not closer.  I clung to the wall trying to fathom the source.  “Whoosh, whoosh!”       

           Two flashlights broke the darkness and two laughing young men stepped into the room, to be greeted by an amazing spectacle.   In the middle of the room, grasping a two by four, was one of our friends.  He swung wildly to keep all things away.  If any of us had opted to step forward, it would have been tragic.  Our friend’s terror had taken control and he was no longer one of us.  His phobia was greater than his reason.   It took a while, but he gradually calmed down…at least from the terror.  Then came the anger and no amount of apologies could make him forget.

     I realized that my normal reaction to darkness was different from his.  It stirred a basic survival instinct in my friend. His reasoning abilities changed and for the moment he became someone different.

     We grow out of most of our fears but rarely all of them. Because of that experience in the dark I learned one thing that I often share with others.   You respond with fear when danger is near.  It’s a basic emotion. Some of us may only have mild reactions while the fears are intense for others.  How we respond shows how prepared we are to deal with it.