Love Poem: Searching For Rella

Searching For Rella


It was just another Saturday night,
wasn't with nobody
My pockets were full
and my heart was on call
I was dressed to the nines,
and my hair was laid just fine
when I stepped into the 
Coats-For-Kids charity ball
I made the usual walk through,
did the casual mingle
Bumping elbows with the upper crust crew,
it was a nice mix of married and single
All the heavy hitters were just rolling in,
as I gave a holla to a couple of close friends
Started getting a good vibe when I saw
the deejay who was spinning here
He was the same one who was thumping the tunes
at my baby sister's wedding last year
It was about a quarter past ten,
when I saw a black limo carriage cruise in
And when the chauffeur opened the door,
out stepped a vision of beauty I never seen before:
Gold dress
Emerald low-cut heels
I said to myself ... is this fairy tale for real
Asymmetrical sculpted hair
Chocolate pearl-shaped eyes
She illuminated the place like a tropical sunrise
I followed her everywhere as she floated through the crowd
being ogled and cat-called
Her path parted a sea of whispers of ooh and aahs
Then she suddenly stopped,
and without turning, held out her hand
Beckoning me to come dance
I danced with a princess under crystal chandelier light,
we chatted and laughed until nearly midnight
We talked of romantic things; 
misty meadows and enchanting moon beams,
aromatic glades and sipping lemonade in balmy shade
We talked of irreverent things; 
favorite TV shows and watching drifting snow blow,
performance art critiques and specialty items at small boutiques
We talked of cerebral things; 
the longevity of coniferous trees, the hive hierarchy of the bees,
the societal impact of big pharma, the reciprocity of karma
But of ourselves, we only knew each other's first name
With unspoken mutual consent, 
we embraced, with playfulness, the mystery of the courtship game
Then, as the clock began to midnight chime,
she gasped and intoned she was out of time
And just as quickly as we met,
she departed in haste with no decorum or grace
As the black limo streaked away,
in my stunned silence, I happened to look down
and was shocked at what lay on the floor ---
one emerald shoe
Now what was I to do?
The only thing about her I knew,
was that her name was Rella
I searched everywhere for a year,
was just a sad, crestfallen fella
At the charity ball the following year,
she didn't come and no one knew who she was
Then a short while after that ... I gave up looking
It was almost two years later, on a clear spring day,
I went window shopping at a mall
Saw a set of glasses that came with a smile,
I saw again that beautiful belle of the ball
I told her that I had been searching for her,
and that I had her emerald shoe
She said: while you were out there looking for me,
I was always praying and waiting for you