Second Chances, Richard French [good books for 8th graders .TXT] 📗

two nations that exist side by side and shape the story of the world. One is prominent, the other modest, one is visible, the other beyond the reach of our senses. The two come together in the Son of God, toward whom Abraham and Sarah looked in faith.
Howard didn’t say anything. He gazed at an invisible spot in the distance beyond the scene of the staged battle.
“You’re being sent on an errand yourselves,” I suggested, “that you haven’t foreseen. It will heal you and benefit others.”
“But we’re performers,” Jocelyn said with an air of exasperation.
“Exactly,” I reassured her. “I’ll write a script about your life with Howard and his with you and how the two nations touched your lives. You’ll star in your own stories and show that the power of Love caught you by surprise and healed you. The ending will uplift the perplexed.”
“Who’ll bother to come to that?” Howard asked.
“Millions,” I said.
Howard winked at Jocelyn and they smiled at one another and at me. “How’s Mary Beth?” Jocelyn asked. They didn’t want me just to talk away like a hypocrite to whom words come easily. They needed to see how I applied the remedy I offered them to your situation and mine.
“It’s smooth going again,” I said. “I’m flying to her place on the east coast next week.”

I will tell of your name to my brethren.

SECOND CHANCE

1.

The sea roiled, the wind bit;
A gull swerved near your house.

“We’ll watch the storm,” you said,
To ease a dullness
That’s come between us,
“And talk things over.”

We’d hoped for better weather
Than the storm that kept us in,
So we could walk in the woods,
Picnic on the beach, and then at sunset
Let our joy in each other romp and ring
Through town like bells.
Instead, stuck inside, we made
Ourselves uneasy with talk and silence.
I wondered if we’d
Part eagerly Sunday evening,
Glad the weekend was over
Or linger on your doorstep,
Caught between embrace and farewell,
Two wanderers past forty
Thunder-struck with love?

2.

“I’ve been so busy with my work.”
I told you, “that I haven’t thought
About romance after my marriage collapsed.
Now new ideas are coming, thanks to you.
Do you mind if I speak up?”

You inched away, pensive, and gazed at me,
Open, compassionate,
As if you understood the mixed feelings
That hobbled me.
“I had my doubts,” you said, “that you’d ever
Break out of your beloved cocoon.
I can’t wait to hear what’s on your mind.”

“I don’t know another woman like you,”
I said. “I think about you all the time.
Are we ready for a new romance –
Different and better than the others? ”

“I’m touched,” you said, “but relationships
Are difficult. I doubt I’ll marry again.”
Your answer struck at my hopes. No matter
How much I’ve been through I can still feel like
A teenager, crawling into himself.

3.

A while later, you added, “I wouldn’t be
The easiest person you’ve had to deal with.
I have moods and weaknesses, too, especially
When I remember storms that
Took the longest time to quiet down –
Friendships that dried up,
A husband who couldn’t resist
A woman’s smile. A fiancé who
Drank too much. I sometimes say
I’ve failed at the best parts of life.”
“I can’t claim perfection either,” I replied,
Understating the case.
“But I’m not afraid to say that
I could love you in the wink of an eye.

4.

The wind that swept across the bay
Whirled through the woodland,
Toppled trees, clogged paths,
Whipped a skirl of last year’s leaves.

You said (hoping I’d see you right),
“I’m not cheerful every moment of the day.
I don’t force feelings or smother them
And never pretend love when it doesn’t exist.”

You didn’t say – but I could tell –
That despite the ache of broken things
You reach out in steady hope.
To calm a nasty day,
Turn my knotted, rain-bound feelings
Into a kaleidoscope of joyful musings.
You soften a dry heart,
Clotted with routine,
Then send astringent gusts
Of your own to stir my thoughts
And ruffle my feelings.
You’re the one I want to love.

5.

After the rain stopped,
We went outside to check
The damage to your plants.

“You’re the one I prefer,” I said.
I see a trace of smile as if you
Wanted to trust what I was saying.
The distance between us lessened.
A chord struck, our thoughts connected,
Feelings spun like pinwheels
And ran like thawing streams.
We came together
As one for a moment.
Truth and senses coalesced
And we became what we were meant to be.

6.

Clouds rushed in again,
The wind rose, cold rain returned.
We moved inside
And you made us
A salad and lentil soup.

“It’s obvious what you’re doing,” you said.
“You want to help me so we can build
The steady love that neither of us ever had.
But what about doubts and storms?
We’d raise a hurricane ourselves
If feelings ever seized and tightened…
And one of us would leave.”
“We’d work through that storm, too,”
I assured you. “Heavy winds eventually settle down
Since love is the strongest part.”

“People often speak the word ‘love,’ you said
“But what do we mean by it?
Sadness is gray,
Disappointment’s a heavy stone
That takes forever to roll away,
Discontent a ball of wire.
Love is strongest,
a tempest, a blaze,
that we should never confuse with
the high winds of infatuation.
If those come our way, we’ll
Look for shelter in good sense.
Best, love is a gleam of
comprehension in grimy clouds,
unshakable help in a hurricane.
And it never holds a grudge.
Does that make sense to you?”
I said “yes” with my own attempt at picture-language:
“Love shines and warms
Like a sun that doesn’t scorch.”
I didn’t fare well, you see,
Since you’re the poet, after all.
I’m not a quitter, though.
“I’ll find a way to show you
The picture I have of us together,” I said
Even if it takes the rest of my life.”
“Don’t wait,” you replied. “Speak up.”
“I think you’re terrific,” I tell you –
The best I could find to say just then.
7.

Ghosts have started to drift away
And reassuring tangible things
Move in to take their place.
The touch of your hand
Lightens my memories
Now that we’re apart.
I cherish the caress of your voice,
The brush of your lips, the grace of your moving,
And the courage to cope
That you pass along to me.
I’m glad you’re my friend.
For one weekend at least
You gave me what I missed.
f I’ve done anything for you,
Then love will shimmer in the shadings
Of our thoughts and in the promise
That we won’t postpone another weekend
With just us two
For longer than our friendship can abide.