“My First SWOON” by Lisa Schroeder

We’re smack dab in the middle of these “My First SWOON” essays and I hope you’ve been digging them as much as I. Okay, perhaps I’m slightly more into them than you, since for every one I run, that’s one less BLARGH I have to write. And I’m still on the fence about confessing my own “First SWOON” here—the ones running have been so sweet and so cute and mine is…so not. Eileen Cook, whose essay ran previously, was the ultimate in sweet and cute, not to mention hilarious. Thank you, Eileen, for swooning…

Today we reveal the first SWOON of Lisa Schroeder. You’ve got to love Lisa for taking something as potentially daunting as poetry and making it as accessible and relatable as your best friend or your favorite jeans. Here, she brings that same graceful touch she employs in her novels Far From You and I Heart You, You Haunt Me to a personal confession of her own. Thank you, Lisa, for swooning…

We were in that magical place,
between the innocence of girlhood
and the complexity of adolescence.
Always looking ahead
but holding on to the past.
Not sure of much
except who’s hot,
who’s not,
and which group should include us.
One warm summer evening,
hanging out at Gigi’s house,
when the lovely Dawn,
as cool as her name,
brought her tape player over.
She plopped it down and pressed play.
Nothing like The Carpenters or John Denver
like my mom listened to.
Nothing like Simon and Garfunkle
like my dad listened to.
This was different with a capital D.
It made my head nod
and my insides tremble.
He sang to our souls
about falling in love again,
and I had to know who he was.
Dawn smiled and her eyes sparkled
when she said his name.
Sammy Hagar.
We listened.
And we swooned.
After that, we knew one thing
as sure as we knew
the best days were yet to come –
There’s only one way to rock!

Lisa Schroeder is the author of Far From You and I Heart You, You Haunt Me. Visit her at lisaschroederbooks.com.