Some Patti Poems by Michael Estabrook.

Ever

 

I’m still jealous, upset and wary,

afraid she’ll see the light

and leave me, but why?

In all our 6 years of dating

she strayed from me only once,

going on a blind date with a friend’s friend,

but came scurrying back to me immediately,

as if she’d been splashed by scalding water.

One date, one time wandering,

then back to me as quick as could be,

back to the surety and comfort of my undying love.

How can such a silly thing still bother me?

She didn’t even kiss the guy or hold his hand,

doesn’t recall his name or what they even did.

It was a good thing that date,

made her appreciate me all the more.

And today, now and forever,

she’s mine, plan and simple, mine,

and no one can take her away from me, ever.

 

 

She Never Succumbed

 

She gave me my ring back at the end

of our first semester of college

so she could have her freedom

to date other guys. But she made the mistake

of still dating me too. And while my strategy

to overwhelm her with attention

left her no time for these other guys,

for two anguished years she remained

open to dating them. Fortunately for me,

it never amounted to much.

She had only one official date (that I know of),

a blind date with a friend of a friend

who showed-up on campus for a good time.

So throughout college

she never made-out with another guy,

never went away for a weekend

with another guy, never got to know

another guy better in the back seat of his car.

In short, she never succumbed

to the attentions of any other guy,

not her hunky football player friends, not

her brilliant classmates, not the study-buddies

she’d meet-up with in the library, not

the popular, handsome dudes

who walked her to her classes

telling her what pretty eyes she had.

Nope, my beautiful girl, my sweet,

precious, wonderful girl, who one day

I would marry, never succumbed

to anyone else but me (that I know of).

 

 

Because I Prevailed

 

I love her so much.

I love watching her, being with her,

hearing her voice, following her scent

through the house, like a demented wolf.

I simply cannot get enough

of this woman, this Woman.

And I have decided not to blunt

or hide or avoid the passion of my feelings,

have decided not to diminish my worshipping

of her, the air she breathes

and the ground she walks upon.

I love Patti. I worship Patti without hesitation

or embarrassment or shame.

She is so perfect and so pure,

so sweet and precious and beautiful,

and she’s mine, that’s the best part, mine –

my wife, my lover, my friend, my goddess.

Throughout the tumultuous 6 years

of dating in high school and college

I prevailed. I prevailed over all her suitors –

her brilliant study-buddies

and class-mate friends,

her football-player chum

who walked her to class and met her

in the library, the double-dates arranged

by her roommates, Larry and Ralph

and Don and that guy,

who when she first decided to date other guys,

spent the whole day with her

after she sent me away.

Me. I prevailed, always calling, writing,

visiting and taking her out on dates.

Me, always there in the background,

impossible to get rid of.

I managed to keep myself – my tenderness,

caring, respect, and burning love –

in her heart and mind, a foundation

for her always to rely and depend upon.

I managed, by hanging on like a rabid dog,

to impede the advances of the others

and win her love. I prevailed

I wanted her to be with me her whole life,

desired her from the outset to be my wife.

And yes she is and always will be

because I prevailed.

 

 

Just like Patti did

 

In college, Linda went on a blind-date once

with someone besides Freddie,

with a friend of her roommate’s boyfriend,

just like Patti did

with some guy other than me –

with a friend of her roommate’s boyfriend.

 

Such a coincidence.

But nothing came of it,

it was only one date,

and nothing happened,

and it didn’t matter,

and there was never another one.

 

I guess friends did such things

for one another, when their boyfriends

brought a friend who needed a date,

and knowing this

for some reason makes me feel

so much better.

 

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