First Love

(Front cover of Figaro Illustre magazine
by Madeleine Lemaire, 1845-1928, French
painter and illustrator)

Remember your first crush? Your heart was young and tender. Your feelings were intense. But they remained unrequited, for the object of your affection had no idea.

FIRST LOVE

When I was in my fourteenth year,
And captain of the third eleven,
I fell in love with Guinevere,
And hovered at the gate of heaven.
She wasn’t more than twenty-seven.

I partnered her, by happy chance,
At tennis, losing every game.
No shadow dimmed her careless glance,
No teasing word, no hint of blame.
Brightlier burned my secret flame.

Nothing I asked but to adore,
In dumb surrender, shy and stiff:
But ah, she gave me how much more,
A benison beyond belief!
“Just hold my racquet for a jiff.”

~ Gerald Bullett (1893-1958), English essayist, novelist and poet