The Daisy (a sestina about Emma Bellis)

All those years ago, you were a teenager
wishing away your days with dreams of barefoot
weddings when you decided to write to me.
I don’t know why, maybe you were one of those long-haired,
lost souls who were just bored with life,
or maybe you felt you needed a friend,

someone to talk to, and it’s easy having a penfriend,
someone far away, maybe a teenager
finds it easier to talk from a distance about life,
anything from bursting balloons in brownie games barefoot,
to family problems and talking deeply about her
relationships; and I was glad she was so open with me,

that she was able to discuss with me
so freely, so much that maybe we became more than friends;
maybe I became too engrossed in her,
she became more than just a teenage
penpal, instead she ended up my special barefoot
cyber-lover, although we hadn’t met in real life.

All those girls I’d come across in my life,
it’s strange that to think she meant more to me
than just words on a page, and the thought of dancing barefoot
with her thrilled me.  I had to remember she was only a friend,
another of my lost and lonely teenagers
and there would be nothing more between me and her.

I have written for many years to her
and in that time she’s started to live her own life;
she no longer thinks like a teenager -
I’ve watched her grow up, get older, and overtake me;
she’s found herself a good boyfriend
and she’s already planning her barefoot

wedding and four kids; while I’m still stuck with barefoot
dreams and idle thoughts about her.
I hope she’ll always consider me a friend
and that whatever happens in life
she’ll always remember me
from when she was still a teenager.

I wish my barefoot daisy all the best in life.
All I ask is for her not to forget me,
not leave behind a friend, the eternal teenager

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