MANVILLE AND THE FALLING STAR (TO JONAS)

So Manville Borne kissed me
at the Homecoming game my 
senior year. I don’t even know 
why he was there that weekend – 
maybe to see some of his old friends
from school. Anyway, he was there
as handsome as ever and I was 
starstruck and embarrassed as ever.  
He just walked right up to me and said 
You look beautiful, Suzanne, and he
kissed me on the cheek! I could’ve died!

I don’t know if I said thank you or if we
spoke at all beyond that exchange. His
words and that kiss (!) thrilled me – 
and he knew why – yet he did it anyway
a kiss as a kindness to a girl as doofus 
around him at 16 as at 11 or 12. 

Later that night, I saw
a falling star
for the first time 
and I learned that sometimes
beautiful gifts
fall unexpectedly 
from the sky. 

Suzanne E. Wiltz is a New Orleans native and a graduate of Tulane University. Her poetry has appeared in Spires, The Southwestern Review, The Heartland Review, and MockingHeart Review, among other publications. She is a member of the Louisville-based group, Green River Writers. She edits two newsletters – Poetry Newsletter and The Spark. In addition to poetry, her great loves are learning, reading, traveling, visiting museums, and her beloved cat, Mikey Alexander Wiltz. She can be found online at https://culturalyst.com/suzanne_wiltz_poet