Madeleine First Taught Me to French Kiss
Madeleine first taught me to French kiss
As we lay in soft grass in the park
Under a live-oak alive as we
Two then and I cannot forget her
Nor any of those glories which were
And I will always remember this
The lighting of a magical spark
Igniting requiting flame that day
A shining day which never grows dark
Time will never take that spark away
A very wise girl who left her mark
I wrote poems for her way back then
And always think of Madeleine when
I pass soft grass and a live-oak tree
Remembering what she gave to me
She loved my poems then even though
I was young and it was long ago
If I used to write too formally
Neither of us knew any better
Nor were we formal personally
She was Anglican and did not mind
A skillfully-tongued formality
It was on Shrove Tuesday I met her
Pancakes in the parish hall and tea
She was beautiful though love is blind
And I will always remember this:
Madeleine first taught me to French kiss
+Steven Curtis Lance
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