Lavinia Forsythe-Jones

In the summerhouse, in the ornamental gardens
Lavinia fell in love for the first time
He was the gardeners son and he was really very nice
He wrote her poetry and she learned every line
He said he loved her, she said she loved him too
They'd keep the secret, and only they would know.

She went to Switzerland to a school for young ladies
To study cordon bleu and conversation
Her parents both agreed because of mothers migraine headaches
That she should stay a year and ease the tension
He said he'd wait for her
She said that when she came home, they would start again
And it would be the same.

And when the year was up, it was the start of a season
Lavinia soon returned to be a debutante
And Mrs. Forsythe-Jones made lavish arrangements
For a smart affair, she thought that's what she'd want
She had a lovely dress of broderie anglaise
Made in Paris, by someone famous.

She didn't notice him, he was standing in the garden
In his working clothes, watching quietly
He tried to catch her eye with a wave of his hand
But she was surrounded by her fine society.

Lavinia's married now to a man of importance
And she sees him just at weekends
And in the summer months, she sits alone in the garden
And what she sees of life is through a faded lens
She reads her poetry, those few well worn pages that may fall apart
She knows them all by heart.