What's Happened to Romance?

By: Shirley Lovell

Has romance faded like the dawn
Since all the good old days have gone,
When courting with that special guy
Was under mother's watchful eye.

When dainty frock would be your dress
'Cause jean and T-shirt wouldn't impress,
While on the sofa couples chat
And in between a parent sat.

When horse and buggy was the mode
To travel up and down the road,
While you may think this rather crude,
A horse is such a clever dude
He knows the way without being shown
But cars need hands to drive them home.

The '20s then began to roar
Old courting ways because a bore.
In nifty roadster, top rolled down
You'd be the envy of the town.

Off to a ballroom looking dapper
He in tails, and she in flapper.
A favorite spot, the picture show,
To steal a kiss, now who would know.

Then cruising in those cars with wings,
Drive-in movies, summer flings.
In bobby socks and poodle skirts,
Sideburn hair cuts, jazzy shirts.

Each generation seems unique
As that one special mate they seek.
But yet we're really all the same
Just different ways to play the game.

Like days gone by that tender glance,
By candlelight, still spells "Romance."

And flowers haven't lost their touch
To say "I love you very much."

From horse 'n buggy to jumbo jet
From back yard fence to Internet,
Whether waltzing 'round the gramophones
Or rocking to the Rolling Stones
It doesn't take a sage to tell
Romance is still alive and well.

Wedding Album… of Yesterday and Today
Published by the Ingersoll Times & Norwich Gazette - Wednesday, February 18, 1998