The Night I Let Good Love Slip By

By Newport's waters, I once met
A fair maid on the windy beach
We talked and soon the stage was set
For love that lay within our reach.

To party music, we did sway
I held her hand, she did the same
The full Moon rose above the bay
As we kindled our lovers' flame.

She bid me join her at her place
Though I had come here with my friends
And my poor heart began to race
But this is where the story ends.

I could have had it all that night
A blissful time and even more
But I worried if it was right
To leave my friends upon the shore.

Would not have been that long a time
I'm sure that they would understand
This time I wasted was a crime
She left me shipwrecked in the sand.

And so my friends, learn from this tale
When love calls, please don't hesitate
Or from your shoreline, she will sail
And all your words will come too late.

Poor fool to think that night, I'd get
Fate to grant me another try
For all my life, I'll long regret
The night I let good love slip by.

note: This is based on a real event in my life many years ago.