Honourable mention in the 2009 Fortune Cookie Contest.

Love is on its way

I was hoping you would have hung around

at least until I’d learned all the words

to “Goodnight Irene”

a guy called Murray, a friend of a friend

said, “I’ve never had a romance that lasted

longer than a bottle of shampoo”

he said this at Shoppers Drug Mart

in the Health and Beauty aisle

looking for Sparkling Beauregard

a brand recommended for flyaway hair

back in grade 6, half the class had a crush

on a girl called Andrea, with long brown hair

politeness, brains and leadership skills.

a song on the Toppermost 40 that season

was “Andrea” by the Sunrays

some of the lyrics were awkwardly mushy

and Andrea often got razzed about it

at the beginning of junior high

the dream-song of choice on the Hot 100

was “Malinda” by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers

there weren’t any girls called Malinda to razz

but actions like that were behind us by then

Andrea would have heard that song

I’m sure of it, she was around

almost every year

during the high school graduation blow-out weekend