I Was Dumbfounded Poem by Gert Strydom

When I was a student
I bought a box of chocolates
one evening at a café
to give as a gift
to a girl

who chatted with me
in class and with whom
I had a walk
and a talk that afternoon

and she was really pretty,
far past cute
and the sky glittered
in her grey-green eyes.

The box looked inviting
beyond the glass
and I bought an apple there
later a pear
which I gobbled down

and at twenty one
I experienced how astounding
new love could be
and was more dumbfounded
that she really liked me.