My worst relationship was also the most instructional. Of course, almost seven years ago, you would have never convinced me that the girl I yearned for would be the girl I almost grew to hate, but regardless of the risk, those first days of the romance are what we live for. Now if only we could learn to preserve the glow of our first encounter and the urgency with which we fell in love, we might just learn how to become at one with the fervor that guided our hands in writing something like the following, something I wrote my junior year in high school:

On this quiet, placid night
As I make my way toward sleep
My heart beats to the tune
Of a love so pure and deep
Beautiful and sweet
Like the music of your voice
Your soft melodic laughter
So free and delighting
So smooth and inviting
And as I sit here writing
I think of how exciting
It would be to have you near

If I could have you here
I would steal away your fear
Protect you from all harm
And fill your heart with cheer
Not a single bitter tear
Would stain your angel's face
Your heart, so warm and dear,
Locked in my strong embrace

Never mind the space
That keeps us far apart
Distance can't erase
This longing in my heart
This yearning in my soul
To share this night with you
To hear your every dream
To make them all come true