love affair in circles
She looked through her old record collection. It was dusty, neglected and she felt ashamed. Ashamed of the neglect and equally embarrassed because of the amazing worthless music she had once deemed necessary to buy. In all honesty, it wasn’t all hers. There were also some sixties EP’s her mother had bestowed upon her with quicksteps and what-have-you’s. You could also tell when the CD-player had entered the house, since all vinyl music was before 1990. No, no, that wasn’t true. Here was a record she’d gotten when she wanted to impress her boyfriend. Lou Reed, Berlin - he thought that was the greatest record ever produced. Well back then he did. She’d never gotten quite into it. The Rutles, another gift from a friend - ah, she’d nearly forgotten about them! 20 Golden Oldies from the Beatles, she clutched and hugged. When panicked by the sheer rubbishness of Bros and other popular top 40 music, she’d found The Beatles in her mother’s record collection. They’d saved her. Although they didn’t save her taste enough to stop her from buying Nick Kamen and Chesney Hawkes EP’s. She smiled when she came across those sins of youth.
Rummaging on, she discovered an ABBA LP. She couldn’t remember if she’d bought it or if it was a legacy. The lyrics sheet fell out of the cover and she was just about to put it back when her eye fell upon marks, circles around certain phrases. They seemed random. But in their randomness, there was a story peeking out. Waiting for her to read.
Party .. morning .. friend .. and a whole sentence there Oh yes, man is a fool, the end. On to the song Our last summer .. romance.. I can still recall.. I still see it all.. Memories that remain.. Walking hand in hand. Ah, a love story gone wrong. How touchingly encircled on paper. That person must have gotten great comfort out of Abba knowing her innermost sentiments. But wait, it gets more detailed. A football fan .. Harry. Harry? How explicit! She met a football fan named Harry at a party, apparently. You’re the hero of my dreams… The fire in his eyes… this was all so sweet! Her eyes searched for the next circle on the page. The word kind was encircled. Odd. Oh no, she missed the one above that: I wasn’t jealous. She gasped. Something had gone terribly wrong in this relationship, she could feel it. On to the next one love, that was comforting, but then the axe struck a few little love affairs … long .. incomprehensible. She sobbed. And didn’t dare find the next circle, which she could tell would say
The way old friends do.
A love affair told within twenty circles.
She got up and phoned her mum. “Mum? Yes hi, it’s me. Do you want to tell me about Harry?”
Rummaging on, she discovered an ABBA LP. She couldn’t remember if she’d bought it or if it was a legacy. The lyrics sheet fell out of the cover and she was just about to put it back when her eye fell upon marks, circles around certain phrases. They seemed random. But in their randomness, there was a story peeking out. Waiting for her to read.
Party .. morning .. friend .. and a whole sentence there Oh yes, man is a fool, the end. On to the song Our last summer .. romance.. I can still recall.. I still see it all.. Memories that remain.. Walking hand in hand. Ah, a love story gone wrong. How touchingly encircled on paper. That person must have gotten great comfort out of Abba knowing her innermost sentiments. But wait, it gets more detailed. A football fan .. Harry. Harry? How explicit! She met a football fan named Harry at a party, apparently. You’re the hero of my dreams… The fire in his eyes… this was all so sweet! Her eyes searched for the next circle on the page. The word kind was encircled. Odd. Oh no, she missed the one above that: I wasn’t jealous. She gasped. Something had gone terribly wrong in this relationship, she could feel it. On to the next one love, that was comforting, but then the axe struck a few little love affairs … long .. incomprehensible. She sobbed. And didn’t dare find the next circle, which she could tell would say
The way old friends do.
A love affair told within twenty circles.
She got up and phoned her mum. “Mum? Yes hi, it’s me. Do you want to tell me about Harry?”