PROPOSALS AND POETRY

PROPOSALS AND POETRY
As a painfully shy teenager, I struggled with how to communicate my feelings, perhaps that is why I was drawn to the stage, where it was easier for me. When I finally realized that the extraordinary young lady I had met at a piano lesson and dated for some time was the one with whom I wanted to share my life, I agonized over the words to convey my intentions. I tried practicing the phrases in front of the mirror to improve my delivery, but the more I tried the worse it seemed to get. I began to worry that if I didn’t express my deep feelings soon, one of a multitude of fond admirers surely would, and I would be left with a shattered dream. I determined to call upon the help of a friend, Oscar Hammerstein II whose words had touched my own heart so many times before. Though I never met Mr. Hammerstein, his lyrics were part of my being. I asked Laurie to come to my parent’s home and I sat her by the piano prefacing the following song I sang with: “Though these may be Oscar Hammerstein’s words, they are how I feel.” I make up things to say, on my way to you On my way to you, I write things to say I can write poems too, when I’m far away When I’m far away, I write poems too. But when you draw near, my lips go dry When you are near, I only sigh, oh dear! I’ve told every little star, just how sweet I think you are Why haven’t I told you? I’ve told ripples in a brook, made my heart an open book Why haven’t I told you? Friends ask me, am I in love, I always answer yes, Might as well confess. If I don’t they’ll guess. Maybe you may know it too. Oh my darling, if you do, Why haven’t you told me? The song did the trick, and it is a good thing, because Laurie became the mother of my 6 children.