' Unfortunately, Love Doesn't Work That Way At 15! Poem by Frank James Ryan Jr...fjr

I was only fifteen,
I still remember her words
that tore through my Heart,
ostensibly for light years,
but in truth, for several months.
'I don't love you anymore',
syllables cutting through my chest
like my dad's straight edge blades.
What did I do?
What did I say?
Just tell me, and I'll make things okay...Okay?
Unfortunately, love doesn't work that way at 15!


Then she echoed the very same words,
and the razors turned to knives.
She had no good reason,
she'd just found someone else,
made no %@#@! *$ sense to me,
and had my Heart not been beating
in my throat which dealt me silent,
I might have listened to my Mind
logically telling me, I wouldn't want -
someone so unblond, shallow, and fickle;
but like I said, and will never forget,
unfortunately, love doesn't work that way at 15!
Especially, when you own the part
of the ''dumpee'', rather than the dumper.
And, in an effort to find that silver lining
that I feared would be of lightening,
I thought it was good that I had learned
all the socratic philosophies in Life,
about forever eternal love
and, at such an young age(hmmm)
that would surely give me a man's leg up(hmmm, hmmm)
on my very next date that I swore I'd never go for.
Unfortunately, love doesn't work that way at 15!
ad no recollection to this day, as to how I made
the two mile walk from her house back to mine.
My life had just been shaken up
like a Hallmark snow globe.
or when I missed the foul shot
that would have sent our school
to the State Hoop finals.

I thought I'd experience hurt en maximus.
I had no clue at the time
that a girl could trump a championship trophy;
and then of course there were my friends
that always meant well, in taking blood-sweat turns
to cheer me up with jabberwocky lines
like the my Dad would say killed Vaudville.
Lines like, 'You'll be ''up again'' in no time'', and,
'dares plenny o'fish n' da' sea''(My pal from Brooklyn) .
Unfortunately, love doesn't work that way at 15!
(Especially in Brooklyn)

Well, it took a while; as she lived tnot far from me,
and when I'd see her alone, I would smile, say hello,
kept walking, never looking back(some of the the time) .
And for months when I'd see her walking downtown
with her boyfriend, hand in.....AH, hands everywhere,
It gave some unexpected knowledge,
of the medical field, if you know what I mean.
And I finally understood what heartache meant,
that I had it... but only when I saw-
the two of them walking arm in arm.
But, even crazier, as time went on,
and I was dating once again,
I only got that feeling after downing 12 Nathan's
but the Doctor told me they call that heartburn,
which in retrospect, was apropos, as a hot dog I was,
for not moving on from the first aching day,
by practicing foul shots for the next years state finals.
and using the head on my shoulders, instead of...
well, you know.............(Ahemm) .
But in the achy-breaky end you can act numb
to losing girlfriends B U T...
Unfortunately, love doesn't work that way... at ANY AGE! ! !






FjR-MMXV