Post 15 love and wandering

I don’t remember what instigated this poem; but I thought it might be a suitable subject for St Valentine’s day

A LOVE STORY          February 1994

There was a young maiden in Cardiff did dwell
She worked on a checkout, or so I’ve heard tell
One day at the caff round the corner she spied
A boy at a table; with eyes open wide
With coffee and bun, she sat close as she dared
Though she knew it was rude, she just sat there and stared

He was brown as a berry, with sun bleached long hair
A much traveled rucksack nearby on a chair
And stuck on it’s surface were stickers of places
From all over the world; reminders of faces
He’d met on his travels; so long and far flung
It hardly seemed likely for someone so young

Then, all of a sudden he turned in his chair
And meeting her eyes, returned stare for stare
She knew, as she looked, that life never would be
The same as she’d known all her years; and that he
Felt a similar shock; for he gave a wide smile
And said  ”Can we sit here and talk for a while?”

They talked, until outside the evening grew dark
When the caff closed they left, and walked slow through the park
He’d already asked if she knew for a bed
And straightway she’d offered her own home instead
Her Mum met the boy as they came in the gate
And knew, at a glance, he was her daughter’s fate

And, though every smile to the Mother spelled danger
She knew that her daughter was safe with this stranger
As the days turned to weeks they were never apart
The girl never faltered and gave him her heart
They ran in the sunshine. They laughed in the rain
While the Mother just hoped it would not end in pain

For there’s a look to a wanderer they cannot disguise
It ends with their leaving, when it starts in their eyes
So she knew it was fate when the day came at last
And the boy said the time for staying was past
Though he loved his young lover, he could not delay
The vast world was calling. The road led away

He told her, with yearning, of places he’d been
Of voices he’d heard and faces he’d seen
She listened to him; all her love in her eyes
As he tried to explain, she showed no surprise
But murmured “My darling, why should we be parted?
Our journey together has only just started
I’m ready and eager to see something new
And  it will be bliss to see it with you”

It was then that he realized that, never again
Did he need to be lonely; that here was a friend
To share all his journeys; to travel his way
She gave in her notice the very next day

Her Mother could see it was useless to fight
They were meant for each other; she saw it was right
As she kissed them and waved them off with a smile
The two lovers promised to write in a while
And were true to their word; now wherever they roam
A postcard is sent to the one left at home
To tell her they’re happy; untrammelled and free
And sharing together their true destiny

I hope young (and older) lovers can still travel this world. Although it feels as if the chances for doing so ‘untrammelled and free’ are getting more and more unlikely.