First our mothers
conspired and coerced
me into writing a letter
to a guy I'd never met.
The letter got lost in
Navy red tape for a while,
but before they had a chance
to push me to write again,
your letter landed in my mailbox.
The second trap was sprung
when I read your meanderings
and laughed out loud.
I'd never received a letter
that made me laugh out loud before,
so what could I say when,
sight unseen, you said we should
go out the next time you got leave.
What a smile you had!
It crinkled your face from ear to ear,
and you smiled a lot as
we “got” each other's jokes.
Once we kissed,
there was no going back.
The trap slammed tight.
Like the song says,
you made me love you,
I didn't want to do it.
But here we are,
more than 45 years later,
and I'm still caught
in your tender trap,
with no plans to plot an escape.

~Elise Skidmore ©2020

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2 Comments

    1. Aw, thanks so much, Lucille. We’ve both thought from the get go that we were meant to be together, and John once had a card reader tell him this was our third life together. (I laughing said, “You mean we have to keep doing this till we get it right?”) In any case, you may be right about us being made for each other. Thank you for your continued support and stay well.