The Taste of Love
What we feasted on
in those first stages of internet romance—
when nine hours was too short a conversation—was words.
We passed on to the next stage of computer dating:
our first dinner date.
He watched on his desktop computer as I prepared a salad.
This was a long and lengthy process
I recorded as closely as was possible,
using the camera from my laptop.
A prisoner of his large unmovable console computer, I watched his empty desk chair
as he repaired to the kitchen to prepare his meal, hearing sound effects but little else.
When he returned to the living room, he laid his meal in front of his computer.
I had yet to see it as I, in turn, placed my salad in front of me and took my first bite,
watching closely my technique according to my Skype image.
I chewed politely and then smiled,
revealing the lack of lettuce shards on my front teeth.
I looked up. He was watching me as lovingly as usual.
Now, it was his turn.
What are you eating? I asked. Ham, he said.
He lifted a huge hunk on his fork, taking a dainty bite
and chewing happily.
What else? I asked. Just ham, he answered.
And so he demolished the entire pound of thick ham steak,
now and then washing it down with a healthy swig of rum and Coke.
Rum and Coke.
It had been one of our bonding experiences
to find that the drink of choice for each
was Bacardi Rum with caffeine-free Diet Coke.
How could this not be a romance made in heaven?
Culinary compatibility from 2,000 miles away
seemed to be less of a problem than it would be months later,
when we first made physical contact.
But, there was a resolution. He started munching on carrots and I had no objection to ham.
We discovered a mutual mania for potato chips, and true romance bloomed
when I found the full bar of Hershey’s chocolate atop his refrigerator.
Who says we need to concentrate on our differences?
For dVerse Poets we were to post a poem about internet romance in honor of Valentines Day
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
A match made in heaven 😍
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It really is. Romance has matured into a warm and loving friendship–maybe the best sort of love.
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Absolutely my friend
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This is such a heart-warming write, Judy! I smiled at this part; “We discovered a mutual mania for potato chips, and true romance bloomed when I found the full bar of Hershey’s chocolate atop his refrigerator.”
Thank you so much for writing to the prompt ❤️❤️
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He remains my best friend, even at such a distance and after so many years.
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I love this verse here;-
Rum and Coke.
It had been one of our bonding experiences
to find that the drink of choice for each
was Bacardi Rum with caffeine-free Diet Coke.
How could this not be a romance made in heaven?
I do resonate with it dear.
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All true, Ooko. I’ve gone on to gin & tonic, but he remains true to rum & Coke, and we still talk off and on all day and night, in spurts, on the internet. Modern romance.
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Oh,dear how beautiful must love be💜
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Actually combining salad and ham would make it better for both… love the long distance connection.
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As do I…better than no connection at all.
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What a sweet poem, Judy! Thank you for sharing this moment with us.
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
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