18 Comments
User's avatar
Mari, the Happy Wanderer's avatar

Oh Sarah, this was so beautiful and romantic in the best way. I have tears in my eyes. Your essay reminds me of John Berryman’s Sonnet 23, which my husband recited to me on one of our first dates:

They may, because I would not cloy your ear -

If ever these songs by other ears are heard -

With 'love'; suppose I loved you not, but blurred

Lust with strange images, warm, not quite sincere,

To switch a bedroom black. O mutineer

W­th me against these empty captains! gird

Your scorn again above all at this word

Pompous and vague on the stump of his career.

Also I fox 'heart', striking a modern breast

Hollow as a drum, and 'beauty' I taboo;

I want a verse fresh as a bubble breaks,

As little false . . . Blood of my sweet unrest

Runs all the same - I am in love with you -

Trapped in my rib-cage something throes and aches

Sarah's avatar

Wow. Thank you so much for this beautiful poem! I would like to memorize this one.

Baron Aardvark's avatar

Pretty strong, Matt. Pretty strong....

Sarah's avatar

Yeah that's one hell of a choice for an early date.

Mari, the Happy Wanderer's avatar

I know! I was like, Dang!

Sarah's avatar

But clearly it worked 😎

RC's avatar

This was gorgeous, Sarah. Thank you for sharing such beautiful and intimate moments in your life with us.

Kathleen McCook's avatar

Susan Sontag would be so jealous.

Michael Nagy's avatar

Beautiful. Thanks. It's 9 days too early to wish you (plural) a happy anniversary, but it sounds like you're already having one!

Sarah's avatar

Thank you!! Not too early!

Star Trek Log 8 is great by the way. So many weird aliens crammed into so few pages! I'm not even to the vacuum-dwelling electromagnetic aliens, I'm just at the part with the silicon-based life forms. Delightful.

caitlin macy-beckwith's avatar

Your words are a feast. Thank you for cooking them.

Also, your feelings about The Notebook basically mirror mine, right down to: "why does this become a bad Hallmark movie every time we cut to the olds?" and "just make the whole film McAdams and Gosling please. Their acting and chemistry elevate the script fivefold."

Sarah's avatar

You're SO RIGHT.

Fran Mason's avatar

Beautiful! This reader would love also to hear the story of the first secret teen love affair.

Melba's avatar

This was such a great read. Thanks for writing.

Erin E.'s avatar

Written better than Sparks, but evokes just as much feeling. Beautiful.

Sarah's avatar

This is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

Simon Randall's avatar

Oh this was so beautiful and true and genuine!

p.s. Sarah, at least for me there's no Posts tab on your profile, there's no way for someone to know you posted this or to click to it from your profile page. It's just got Activity, Likes & Replies, and Reads.

Sarah's avatar

Thank you for reading! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

And thanks as well for the heads up! I have no idea why that is. Some holdover glitch from having had a blog longer than Notes has existed, maybe. I'll troubleshoot.