The Chronicles Of Simon the Lover
Chapter Four: A Poet’s Encounter
The next day
Simon sat in his usual
Back-corner booth at the diner
Feeling isolated and safe
From the judgment of the normal townsfolk
Hoping Muriel
Who worked as a teller at the bank across the street
Would follow her usual routine
And come to the diner for lunch
A few minutes later
When Muriel walked in
It was to Simon
As the gates of Heaven opening
With celestial light shining upon her face
And her dark brown hair
Simon’s ballpoint pen felt like the ready, ink-dipped quill of a prophet
While the words flowed freely onto
His new dime store notebook
As did those on Solomon’s scroll
When he wrote his sacred song
Simon penned the words purposefully
And with great thought and reflection
As though he was whispering the sonnet
In Muriel’s ear
His head just over her cashmere covered shoulder
When Simon’s confession was finished
He carefully tore out the page
Folding it twice, keeping the creases even
Until it was one third its original size
Just the perfect fit for a fresh, white envelope
Once the envelope was licked, sealed, and stamped
Simon wrote the “To” address on the front
But added no “From”
Then mailed it to the Town Chronicle
Though the newspaper’s office was only two blocks away
Simon wished for the time being
To remain anonymous
And could not risk being noticed
Dropping the letter off
For he was the town’s peculiar one
Simon chose rather
To drop it into the large, metal mailbox on the corner of the sidewalk
Feeling gravity pull it out of his fingers
Before he allowed the heavy, tilt-out mail slot door
To swing back into place
Simon
Knowing what was now done
Could not be undone
He whispered to himself
“It is finished”
Upon the poem’s publishing in “The Town Chronicle”
Several days later
It could be said that there was no small stir
Among the populace of the small town
For Simon was plain
With the notions of his heart
His anonymous, yet public confession
Read in this fashion…
-Thank you for reading this story! If you would like to have and read the entire poetry book that the story is from, please click either of the links below. It is available on Kindle and Nook. If you would like a print copy, please message me directly.
Luke Austin Daugherty 