Enjoy the Ride

A year was spent being courted and enticed.
She wondered why she deserved the attention.
But decided to merely enjoy the ride.

Then came the demand,
Devote yourself to me!
A month spent,
maybe two,
attempting to hide from commitment,
running away from the
mounting desire to become one.

In the end, concession prevailed
because it was true
and she enjoyed the ride.

But seven months of vain perusings were spent:
wondering who he was,
whether the background and family were sound,
plus, an impossible promise of children.

In spite of it all, only occasionally
did she notice she was thoroughly
enjoying the ride.

Starcrossed it seems the couple was destined to be.
It was a time of tests.
A malady then prevented contact
plus doctors who assumed
the time of having suitors was long past.
Protracted separation
until the poor man's head exploded
from want and jealousy.

It was a time of more tests,
whether the pair could endure the pressures,
was the focus on the partner or social acceptance.
It was a time of tests,
creating amendments to Life or cause of strife
and its resolution.
It was a time of tests,
whether mere words represented the bonds
or the bonds were symbolized
with the mingling of minds and spirits.

In seven months' time,
there was no longer care about that foolish malady.
An interminable week of physical separation
accompanied by mounting desire,
a need to see the other,
and be side by side,
became a burning ache.

When told
he'd asked about and searched for her
throughout the absence,
she realized
his feelings were true.

First embrace,
mutual electricity,
then another.
Half fulfillment.
And she enjoyed the ride.

He claimed territory, demonstrated his passion,
And the tests ended.
Alas, one month later,
the parting was his decision.
Her heart was ripped from its foundation;
the pain more than mere loss of the man,
was the other things he did
that inflicted excoriating public pain.

She healed.
Realizing she'd known true, romantic love,
with all the loops and dives,
ecstasy and pain,
all of it hers to hold and remember.
She'd enjoyed the ride.

Here is the path, my child,
embark and enjoy the ride.
Make it a long and good one.