Encounter

Approaching her 

Didn’t take effort 

The “method”

Was simple

I said, “Hello” 

Complimented

The lady on her

Brunette hair 

And dimples 

Said

“I’ve just left work 

Now i’m in the pub 

To network and mingle”

I wasn’t nervous 

But as she

Looked at me

I was impacted

By the effect

Of her

Intense stare 

For a sec 

There was

A tingle 

That

Green-tinted

Gaze

Eyes of emerald 

They twinkled 

She asked me 

A question first 

She wanted 

To know

Whether

I was single 

I told her, 

“Yep.. yeah” 

But I’m celibate 

Having

A girlfriend 

Was never

The issue

A relationship 

Is precious 

But these days

People just want

To sleep together

It’s sinful 

We exchanged

Names

“I’m Emmanuel” 

“Nice to meet you, 

I’m Heather” 

Eventually, 

I could see 

The conversation 

Developing into 

Something

That could even

Be treasured

I asked 

“Fancy staying

In touch?”

I’ll either just

Text words

Or ring you” 

“Oh, ring me? 

I accept, sir! 

Marry me!” 

Hold on, 

I know you’re 

Looking

For a fella 

A prince who’ll 

Whisk you off

Your feet

Like the tale

Of Cinderella

And I know 

This is the era 

Of Tinder

But we’ve

Got to

Move slower

Get to know 

Each other

Better 

The problem 

With some men 

Is when

They see 

A fine woman

They’re eager

To bed her

And other men 

See women 

As angels

Seraphs 

Or even like 

Innocent

Babies 

Helpless

And little 

Thinking women

Are the image

Of perfection

But I told

Heather 

I want to

See you 

For what

You are 

Not just your

Strengths

But your errors! 

The whole

Spectrum

From good

To bad 

And everywhere 

In the middle 

Fast-forward 

A week later 

We had talked

At length

On various

Topics 

And matters

And came to

A decision

To meet up

For dinner

At a restaurant 

Where for

Starters 

We had

Tempura prawns

And salad 

Laid flat 

On a baguette 

Or was it Ciabatta? 

Anyway, I said 

To the waiter 

“We’ll have

The Prosecco

Or drink

The Cava 

Or maybe

Champagne

Which one would 

You recommend

More?’’ 

He said, 

“The choice

Would be

Dependant

On what’s

According 

To your palate 

But for such 

An occasion 

As this

To be honest

It wouldn’t be

At all wrong

To pick the latter” 

When it came 

The Moet bottle 

I had it popped 

And poured

Into a glass 

Precious liquid 

Not a drop 

Dripped

Or splattered 

But to speak of 

The chemistry 

Between me

And her

It was hot 

It was lava! 

By the time 

The third course 

Finished 

It had cooled 

And settled

To embers

I said, 

“What do

You reckon?

After here 

Let’s go on

A quest

An adventure”

“That most 

Definitely ought 

To have all

The elements

And dimensions

Of a good

Narrative

You know, comedy 

Romance

Suspense

Horror

Wit

And drama

Epic, like

Homer’s Odyssey

We should

Call it a saga”

So afterwards 

I took her

On a trip

To

The Royal 

Academy of Arts 

To see paintings 

And drawings 

By European

Masters

That is,

The French

Like Matisse 

And The

Impressionists

Who painted 

The river Seine 

On the canvas 

By then

We had 

Become

Evidently

Enamoured 

We shared

A moment

Outside 

As we

Watched kids

Play in

The fountain

Waterfalls

In Trafalgar 

As it became

Dark

We caught

A cab 

To Charing

Cross

Playing in

The backseat

Sharing

A long kiss

And laughter 

Headed to

Astoria

For more drinks

But the night

Ended abruptly

A disaster

Involving

A bouncer

And that’s

Really just

The beginning

Of the story

Encounter