Lakeside Story

So a couple of weeks back I had to help out a fellow blogger friend of mine. Nowadays, she runs a heavy duty Lifestyle website, funded by a helluva lot of online ads and backed by a national weekly magazine. Her chief  editor wanted her to create a special February issue solely based on romance, romantic real life accounts and love poems, for obvious reasons 😝 (read as Valentine's Day special issue 😏). I hadn't published anything on her, erstwhile, blog for quite sometime (I haven't published anything on any blog for that matter, for a long time😅)and took her request for a Poem on Love as a mockery. It turned out that she was quite serious about it and explained her desperate situation, which could lead to removal of her as the blogger-in-charge of the site. I tried convincing her by repeated mails that I wasn't what you would call a 'romanticism enthusiast' and whatever I may write down it would never be perceived as romantic. However she didn't take no for an answer and as a result I had to rack my brain for anything remotely romantic that I can write or might have accidentally written at any point of time. 

One day while searching for some old documents in my laptop I stumbled upon something I had written about 6 months ago. I forwarded her that same poem after a few minor modifications. They posted it on their site (the writers of that website are not allowed to share their writings). Anyway, since then the website have changed their Valentines Day content and apparently I can share what I have written, but only if it is for my blog!

Recently she sent a thank you e-mail (which she'd do for every writer) in which she expressed her surprise about the poem and termed it as sweet, sad and romantic! 😝 Apart from the fact of its strange resemblance with a song, she asked quite a few questions. One of which was whether this was a personal story, whether this was an experience that I had? And I'll say the same thing that I told her, "I will neither confirm or deny it". I told her that it was just a feeling, and the person could be anybody. I actually quite literally meant it, but apparently she did not believe me!
After thinking about it I decided to share the poem in my blog. Although I know most of the regular readers have already forgotten about this blog, there are still a few people who've asked me quite repeatedly why I don't write anymore. They might enjoy this, and I'd like to hear their views on it.

Truth be told, the backdrop of the poem was inspired from the people I see and meet around in my campus and stories I hear and the events that unfolds in-front of mine eyes and is a testament to the lives that they live while they are in the university. So people in the the poem could be anybody or no one specific at all, just a work of fiction, depending upon what you chose to believe. 

(Characters depicted in this poem are a work of fiction and any resemblance with any people, living or dead, is purely co-incidental😄😄)

Lakeside Story

There was a girl used to look at me, on the marine campus street;

She'd walk by on her way to class and make the day seem so sweet.
I used to sit in a blistering lab - sometimes I'd even have a nap,
And when she'd go by - she'd light up the sky
Like the sun coming up.
She’d be standing by the lakeside – give me a look and glow,
I'd just sit n' watch her - getting on the bus and go.

I didn’t had her number – didn’t even knew her name
But wanted to climb on board that cross-town bus
Take a chance that she feels the same.

It's just another Lakeside story,
Everybody's got a tale to tell.
And like all those guys before me
I fell under her spell?

Some people you hold on to - some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want the most.
I think about her sometimes, wondering if it was real
And if I ever ‘meet’ her, I'm gonna tell her how I feel………… …….. …… ….. …   ..     .

It's just another Lakeside story,
Everybody's got a tale to tell
And like a hundred guys before me
I fell under her spell!

It's still the same old story - it's still the same old game
Down here on the Lakeside - life goes on the same.
She never knew my number – didn’t even knew my name
She climbed on board that cross-town bus and I never saw her again……………… L

It's just another Lakeside story,
Everybody's got a tale to tell.
And like a lot of guys before me
I fell under her spell.

It’s just another Lakeside story.……………………………………………………………………J

Saswata Maitra (25^th August, 2016)

P.S.- Personally though I dedicate this poem to each and every people I have encountered in my University Lakeside Campus and I believe every 2 out of 5 guys or girls who've been a part of this institution have similar such stories to tell which fortunately or unfortunately never find the words and are forever lost in their hearts.

Although I know it would be fairly hard, but I still hope to find a bit more time and post regularly in my blog. Cheers.. J