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This story takes place in '55, The era when people jumped and jived.
If you listen close there's something to learn, A lesson I hope you get in return.
It was spring and you could smell the flowers in the air As people were planning for Prom everywhere.
Others awaited their big Prom night, But one girl sat alone out of sight.
Her first big Prom, no one cared, she thought That she wouldn't attend, she wouldn't be brought.
As she walked home from school on her way She passed the same shop she did everyday.
In the window she saw a beautiful dress And longed for something she couldn't possess,
Light blue with ribbons from head to toe And old-fashioned lace that curled just so.
Sleeves of silk and a sash of white, She wanted that dress with all her might.
The next week at school, she found a date, She thought that Prom night was going to be great.
That day she came home and it was just there, Setting by the table draped over a chair.
Her parents scraped up all they had, no less, And bought that girl her own dream dress.
The night of the Prom she was so excited, She had her dress, she was delighted,
She slipped it on with tremendous care, Put on lipstick and curled her hair,
With two spurts of her mother's perfume, A sweet aroma filled the room
She walked down the stairs with humbleness and grace. An angel could only be compared to her face.
After a quick goodbye they were off in the night, Her parents' last glimpse was the Corvette's taillights.
The police later said he was driving too fast. After one too many drinks he had flipped and crashed.
Her special dress she loved so much Was no longer special, was no longer such.
The ribbons and lace were destroyed in the blaze Along with her hopes, her dreams, her gaze
Her sash and sleeves were torn, they said, Her light blue dress was now ruby red.
You saw the consequences, you saw their fate
So before you drink—consider your date.
© May 2005, Evan Brumfield. All rights reserved.
Author's e-mail: brumfield42(at)marshall.edu
NOTE: "Ribbons and Lace" was written by Evan Brumfield for Ms. Chambers-Sanders' class at Chapmanville Regional High School, Chapmanville, WV, in conjunction with a Nationwide Insurance Prom Promise Program for the 2005 Spring Prom season. Evan's winning entry was posted on the high school's 2005 alumni web page at lc2.boe.loga.k12.wv.us/chaphigh/ as one of the poems selected to be read over the intercom during the week of May 2-6, 2005.
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