“Do You Remember Me, Joan?”

Do you remember me, Joan?
By your side I sat near the one-way glass,
A moment before the ubiquitous smartphone
I couldn’t request your number—I let it pass

The integrity of pedagogy was to be upheld
And the fact I happened to be a few years under,
A young, tempting myth better left undispelled
I confess, there were nights my mind would wonder

A man never touches a woman who wants touch:
The mystery of that near-miss ne’er goes away,
To consume yourself with books and business and such
Has hardly diminished that provocative interplay

That I dared challenge your disorders expertise
The tongue-lashing you whipped with ferocious force,
The pensive silence with which I sat still in the chair
Yeah, it hurt but I refused to be thrown off course

I wanted to retaliate but strategically kept my lid
The grade was my mission . . . and be on my way,
A woman aiming for a fight it behooves him to rid
What was there to gain at the end of the day?

I spotted you that win but no better you felt
You see, the human soul knows when it’s gone wrong,
I was out of line in my defiance—yet so too were you
The uneasiness of that exchange had lingered long

An arrow hurler, me; a dagger thrower, you
Was there something going on beneath our surface?
Was I a punching bag of residue from the previous loser
Over time did you realize no drama was worth us?

It was Autumn, Joan, the beginning of that season
We denied ourselves a coffee with hints of Irish creams,
You were hurting, carrying a Michelle O. kind of hurt
Balancing that burden with the weight of your dreams

I withstood it then because I understood it all along
The misfortune of it all was we never got to talk,
Would you’ve cared to listen to a new perspective?
Sure, I was less seasoned but there’s a life walk

To be shared by each of us when given the chance
You had me intrigued, woman, damn near mesmerized,
My place in the universe still forming in the coals
Silently wishing I could become a diamond in your eyes

I learned so much of the subject matter—credit you
In the process I learned a great deal about self,
I drove away with autumn leaves on my windshield
Blown awry by the wind but the accumulated wealth

Stayed put in my head and this steady heart of mine
I’d sometimes wonder what became of you,
I’m sure I was simply a forgotten specter in time
But social media has a way of sparking thoughts anew

Part of me wants to re-meet you, to warmly greet you
To re-introduce this years-later version of the man,
Provide a more personal insight beyond the reading
And as is my nature I’d like to kiss your hand

Gift you a copy of my novel: “Would You Mind Company…?”
Perhaps you’d care to be featured in a Pamperee Profile,
After all, you played a part in the making of the man
It’s a new Autumn, Joan, won’t you come enjoy me awhile

The art of music, a vintage wine and a fine dine
We can re-define that once-uneasy interplay,
Absolutely no hard feelings linger in this writer
We deserve a special autumn Pamper-Her-Friday

_____________

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Pamper the woman . . . to make up for lost time. -Rg2

© 2016 Pamper-Her-Friday by Rg2®