L’s Story

He asked me out
I turned him down –
I wasn’t into dating
Anymore

He asked again
And I said, “Yes.”
I am not going to marry him,
That sure –

But unlike many
Guys I’d known,
He was, well, gentle,
Very kind, and sweet —

And winter comes
The way it goes:
When we first feel the coming
Of the heat

J’s Story

She was so smart, and quick; I found
That I’d lean in for every word she’d say:
And she was nice to me, but never
Looked at me the same enraptured way

I wanted to go out with her,
But saw the deep mistrust within her eyes —
And had too much respect for her
To subject that to stress or compromise

She gradually saw more of me,
It kind of happened – nothing I’d arranged –
But I looked up at her one day
And saw the way she looked at me
Had changed