When I Fall In Love Poem by Denis Martindale

To see her is the highlight, now,
To talk to her, sublime,
To ask God what He will allow,
Should He provide the time...
For love itself must blossom till
The thrill is borne of dreams,
Its destiny yet to fulfil,
Perhaps not as it seems...

If only love dispelled the dance,
The game two people play,
The back-and-forth that takes a chance,
The intrigue night and day...
If only love declared the truth,
Straight out and from the start,
Not drawn out from one's awkward youth,
But spoken from the heart...

I've never told her how I feel,
I've kept my love inside,
Despite the fact it's oh so real,
Not something I should hide...
For when we talk, she's in a whirl,
Says things not borne of love,
Such that I know she's not my girl
And dreams don't prove enough...

One day, I'll kiss her suddenly,
No warning of intent,
Act like a thief, risk misery,
My feelings to present...
But that's not what I want for us,
So patiently I wait...
Compelled to talk, not kiss, not fuss,
But simply hesitate...

She shows no sign, that love is near,
I humbly wait my turn,
To hold her hand, to make things clear,
No other way to learn...
They say that love's worth fighting for,
They say don't force its course,
They say love's worth it, that's for sure,
But oh, the waiting bores...

The times I wanted to give in,
Move on, find someone new,
Confessing I'm not meant to win
Or tell her, I love you...
Just listen to her now and then,
Encourage, sympathise,
Fight back that hope to kiss again,
Hold back a thousand sighs...

I know I'm trapped, but you've not seen
The beauty of her smile,
Yet even God won't intervene,
To get us down the aisle...
So I remain her faithful friend,
Her friend and nothing more,
The man who daily must pretend
I'm not thrilled to the core!


Denis Martindale, copyright, August 2013.


The poem tells the story in the Nat King Cole song,
When I Fall In Love, as this is one of my favourites.


Lyrics: poemhunter-DOT-com/song/when-i-fall-in-love-7/