A Love Story - Visitor's Love Poem

by Normita Pangan
(Manila, Philippines)

Once there was a young blood who fell in love with me
He was a bit different, but undeniably pretty
He wrote me a love letter which I still keep dearly
And these were the words he encrypted wholeheartedly

“A drop of sweet kiss is all I ask of you
A split-second embrace is enough to get me through
Your warm loving look shall be my shining light
And the hope of ‘you and I’ shall keep my heart in flight”

His name was ‘Diego’ and he was five years older than me
We met in a restaurant where I always dine and drink tea
It was one regular Monday when I first saw him staring intently
And I was not surprised when he introduced himself confidently

I was shocked to learn that we both work in the same company
Though I don’t recognize him, he seem to know a lot about me
He was charming, spontaneous, and quite frankly witty
And so in such a short time I found him to be incredibly sexy

We then exchanged numbers and decided to set a date
Upon agreement we saw each other the following Tuesday
We talked about everything and I enjoyed it immensely
And when later he asked to drive me home my heart leaped ecstatically

It was a month-long dreamy, vertiginous journey
Him, generously wooing me, and I savoring its entirety
He was close to perfection and I was drawn naturally
Thus, it was devastating when it had to end in tragedy

I learned that Diego was not an ordinary employee like me
His father owns more than half the shares of the company
My boss was the woman he was supposed to marry
And it was during one of his visits that he ‘accidentally’ laid eyes on me

My world collapsed upon learning this horrible truth
And suddenly, I realized it was a surreal life
I always knew this affair was too good to be true
But I still prayed for a miracle to come to the rescue

Finally, on the seventh Monday I decided to send a text of farewell
And though my heart is in riotous protest, I managed to put my conscience at rest
Immediately the day after, Diego sent me another letter
Upon reading it, my long-suppressed tears in a reflex fell..

“A drop of sweet kiss is all I ask of you
A split-second embrace is enough to get me through
Your warm loving look shall be my shining light
And the hope of ‘second chance’ shall keep my heart in flight

Diego was the man I dreamed of being with ‘til eternity
He was the Romeo I fantasized kissing in the balcony
But Diego in reality, was an expensive boat I could never ride
And so before sanity leaves me, I quickly replied:

“A drop of sweet kiss I wish I could give
A split-second embrace will last me forever
But Diego, your warm affection is not for me
You’re not the man I’m ‘destined’ with, I’m truly sorry”

The sympathetic clouds suddenly bowed down on me
Its bitter shower masked my tears that was flowing incessantly
I was alone and helpless, powerless to drag my body
Time seemed to stop, and everything around me mourned sorrowfully

I quit my job to iron out all these terrible complexities
I changed my number to give this love a finality
It caused me a pail of tears and more than hundred days burnt
But I never succeeded of being free of Diego’s memory

After two years of enduring a life of unimaginable misery
I woke up accepting I was a fool banishing such genuine sensibility
And so without another minute wasted, I packed my things and returned in a hurry
Excitedly I sent him a text in hope of reviving our once beautiful love story

"A drop of sweet kiss I know now, I could lovingly give
A split-second embrace is not enough, so I’ll give more
Oh Diego, your warm and sweet touch haunted me for years
And so beloved, I vow to be with you now for the rest of my life!”

I did not hear nor learned of any news about Diego since I vanished and left
And so when I arrived back to his old nest, I was moved to see an unfamiliar face
The man said he was a close cousin, and Diego left him the place as present a year ago
He also said that Diego did leave him a letter just in case a woman would come and ask where he might go..

I was speechless, rumbles quenched my stomach, and my knees became jelly-weak
My chest just suddenly throbbed in a mix of fear and anxiety
I didn’t have the strength and courage to open and read Diego’s letter
But eventually my intense longing overpowered such frailty

“A drop of sweet kiss is all I ask of you..
A split-second embrace is enough to get me through..
Your warm affection and sincere love shall forever be in my heart.
And still, the hope of “you and I” ..I shall bring in the afterlife.”

Diego (1975-2006)
Lot 1377 Park Avenue
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