If
I’d Been Starry-Eyed
by
Lylanne Musselman
Once
upon a time I had a poet as a suitor. I was too young to appreciate
the gesture of having poems written for and about me. I was only 14
years old, so what could I know except the mantra from my mom about
looks and money? He had neither at 16, but he was nice. Heartbroken
and sad, he eventually moved on, leaving me to search for Mr. Right.
After years of having my heart broken and being sad, I see I was
misguided. My romantic, creative side could’ve had a soulmate who
loves what I create, and I could’ve fallen for him as some fairy
tale loves have been known to do. Our same road not taken led us down
different life paths; I’ll never know what could’ve become of
those two kids who enjoyed summer night walks, seeing who could count
the most stars; who strummed guitars side by side, and dreamed
Midwest magic, but whose lyrical hearts never quite harmonized
together.
Lylanne
Musselman is an award-winning poet, playwright, and artist,
living in Indiana. Her work has appeared in Pank, Flying Island,
Tipton Poetry Journal, The New Verse News, and The Ekphrastic Review,
among others, and many anthologies. Musselman is the author of five
chapbooks, including the recent Red Mare 16 (Red Mare Press,
2018), a co-author of the volume of poetry, Company of Women: New
and Selected Poems, (Chatter House Press, 2013) and author of the
new full-length poetry collection, It’s Not Love, Unfortunately
(Chatter House Press, 2018).