I remember Bella, a girl I loved

In my youthful days

But I never told her that I loved her

I never could

I was so shy.

 

In my youthful days

I was a kind of superhero

One of those found

In the comic strip of newspapers

Yet despite my superhero’s quality

I never told Bella one word of love.

 

Although love stirred my heart

It silenced my lips.

Terrified of her rejection, I kept silent.

 

I was so shy that I melted like ice

Like ice set on the fire

On the fire in Bella’s eyes.

 

Yet the fire in my eyes didn’t melt the ice

In Bella’s father’s eyes

As he demanded to know my intention

⸺‘Oh, dear, what is the matter?’ ⸺

It was clear I wasn’t in his imagination

⸺‘Oh, dear, I love your daughter,’⸺

I wanted to say, but I couldn’t say it

I was so shy.

 

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Tired perhaps of waiting for my words of love

By day’s end, with nothing left for me to mend

Bella decided she’d be just my friend.

 

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And today, from the distance of time

I wonder how things would have been different

If I’d have challenged my shyness.

 

Would I be here nursing my sorrow

If I’d have been a daring superhero?

 

Would I be here writing my memories

If I’d have confessed Bella my reveries?