Melissa

Write Club Prompt #97

Melissa was the name of the girl I took to prom. It’s also the name of a great Allman Brothers song. Whenever I think of that song I think of her. Those days back in High School when it felt like I was just starting to get life figured out.

Soon after the prom my Melissa announced that she would be moving to Florida. Her mother had a new job and the whole family was going. That abrupt end left me with a wistful wonder about what might have been had she stayed. My life certainly would have taken a different course if I fell in love with a High School sweet heart and settled down right away.

Thinking about the song it is sort of a mirror of my situation. There it is the man who travels away from home while his Melissa remains behind. Instead of moving on he remains in love, always thinking about the woman he left behind and dreaming of returning. In the end the song’s protagonist succumbs to the world and passes away. But we don’t know to where. A ghost? a mere corpse? a spirit floating away? In the end the song affirms that no matter where he as gone he won’t stay there. Not without his Melissa.