Wednesday, June 6, 2012

"The First Time I Fell in Love" (poem)



Liked the picture - didn't like the sound of the youtube video, found the recording I like - don't like the picture...why cannot we have everything?  I went for the sound, so just close your eyes and listen:


This song gets me every time.  "But that was so long ago, that I can scarcely feel the way I felt before" - a real "punch in the gut" line.  Below is my response to a prompt from IGWRT.  The details of the challenge are here: http://withrealtoads.blogspot.ca/ 



 ~ The First Time I Fell in Love ~


The first time I fell in love,
our school was out for summer,
and peonies bloomed.
The first time you touched my hand,
I felt my world turn upside down
and scatter stars before me.

But that was so long ago,
that I can scarcely feel the way I felt before.
And if I were young again,
I would not attempt to change
the course my love did take.

The last time you broke my heart,
I tried to pick its burning shards
and thought I’d never come alive,
I did not know that from afar
my true love sailed to be with me.
To mend my heart.



Live for the Love of it,
The Happy Amateur



23 comments:

  1. Love, LOVE Gordon Lightfoot! Beautiful poem to accompany it as well! Love this line...But that was so long ago,
    that I can scarcely feel the way I felt before.

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  2. Happy Sasha!! I love your song, I'd never heard it before so I'm glad I got a chance to hear it.

    Your poem is exquisite and your ending is so perfect for a love poem:

    "I did not know that from afar
    my true love sailed to be with me.
    To mend my heart."

    Beautiful!

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  3. Thank you, girls! This is one of my favorite songs, and I get emotional every time I hear it. Such a perfect blend of the lyrics, music and voice. Very moving.

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  4. Your words bring forth a strong sentiment of longing and regret. Awesome choice of song, Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown and are on my ipod...thanks for posting on the Real Toads challenge....onward.

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    1. Thank you! :-) I enjoyed the challenge, it felt good to give a really sad song a bit of a twist and a surprise happy ending.

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  5. First love...we learn so much from it...a beautiful song and poem.

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  6. Sometimes what seems to be the end of the world is just the beginning.

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  7. "And if I were young again,
    I would not attempt to change
    the course my love did take."

    Wonderful reflection!
    One vessel broken and the next one on the way:
    An almost hidden sailing imagery!

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  8. Thank you, Susan! You are very kind :-)

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  9. Ah...Gordon Lightfoot...listening to that and reading your poetry is art! Loved it.

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  10. I went into a dreamlike trance listening to this beautiful song .. with lovely poetry to match.

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  11. Happens to me every time I listen to it! :-)

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  12. Scattered stars --- beautiful image. Lovely response to the prompt!

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  13. How often did we think we'd never come alive again? Well said, and I love your choice of artist for the song. Oh, the early days of Lightfoot and love...
    K

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kay, for your words, glad you enjoyed the song.

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  14. What a perfect description of first love:
    "I felt my world turn upside down
    and scatter stars before me."

    And those last lines, the perfect perspective of wisdom.
    Excellent.

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  15. This is a beautiful poem. It's simplicity and the incorporation of the Gordon Lightfoot line, and the lovely images work perfectly. I particularly like the gentleness of the last stanza, which expresses so well the pain we feel when someone leaves us and we can't yet imagine moving on, even though something better is already on the way to us.

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  16. Thank you for such a beautiful comment!

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