Love In Leeds Poem by Paul Judges

Horseplay in the corridor
but where was our first kiss?
Was it in my dinky room?
The taste of balmy bliss

Cycling on the ring road
the rolling ups and downs
towards your pretty garden
the foxglove’s drooping gowns

Your eyes were bright and bold
like the big city lights
we fumbled with new words
shaped by the sleepless nights

You took me to Cottage Road
to see a soppy show
I stretched a nervous arm
through the celluloid glow

A Slimline Bitter Lemon
a pint of foaming ale
in the noisy pub later
our romance seemed to fail

Wandering round the market
and in the Corn Exchange
through the glass arcades
loose light will always change

We had a day in Ripon
and came back on the bus
between the Sunday sheets
there was nothing, but us

The outside world retreated
so buoyant in your sleep
I woke you with a gentle kiss
and it was pure and deep