Softly, gently, she speaks of love
While listening to the angels above.

Welcome to my humble abode. Sit down and make yourself comfortable. Would you like a glass of fine wine, or maybe some Cafe Latte? Whatever your pleasure, sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself browsing through my pages.

Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Gail, aka Lady Gabrielle. Lady Gabrielle is my alter ego. She writes poetry that I would otherwise not be able to write. Lady Gabrielle is a very sensuous and passionate woman. She loves to write poems of a very sensual nature. I just discovered Lady Gabriel not too long ago. She was kept hidden from me for a very long time. It is now her time, her place, to experience things that I could never experience.

Lady Gabrielle has lived a life of wonder and imagination. Yet, there is so much mystery surrounding her. I don't think in a million years I could ever find out why she sometimes looks so forlorn, and at other times very, very happy. There is a veil surrounding her soul. Behind those eyes of misty green, lay a secret no one has been able to unearth.

I think Lady Gabrielle was very much in love at one time. I believe that is the veil surrounding her soul. I am not too sure she will ever be able to let someone get too close to her. It is a shame. Life has so much to offer. I am hoping that through our communication, I can get her to open her heart and her soul to find love once again. It will be a long uphill battle, but I think I can do it.

As for myself, my background is nothing much except to me. I was born in Trenton, New Jersey. Yes, I know. Some of you are saying, "Trenton, New Jersey! My word!" Alas, that is where my parents settled after World War Two. Now my mother's life was much more interesting than my own, but that is another chapter and verse in my life.

I grew up in the small township of Ewing. Back then it was such a beautiful place. All country roads and lots of trees and flowers everywhere you looked. Now, there are so many developments and professional buildings, you must go twice as far to see any "country." Yet, I do like it in New Jersey. There are many areas you can travel to see some really beautiful countryside. We have pinelands, mountains, rivers, and some wonderful historic towns surrounding the area and they are just beautiful. It is not such a long drive to get to some beautiful parts of New Jersey. Many people are surprised that New Jersey has such beauty. They hear only about the industrialized areas of North Jersey. Even North Jersey has some wonderful places to see.

I went to the area high school and decided that after graduation I wanted to be a "housewife." Oh, that dreaded word! Kind of denotes one is the wife of a house, doesn't it? Back then, though, most women were groomed to get married and have a family. Something along the lines of "Leave it to Beaver." I wish it had been that simple. Life looked like peaches and cream on that show, but life is not always like peaches and cream, is it? Sometimes, reality bites.

I did attempt college for a short time; about two months. I know, silly me. It was just too much work and at that time in my life, studying was not what I wanted to do. Play sounded much more like fun than doing more homework for another four years. So what did I do instead? I found a job. Oh, to know then what I know now! There is an old saying that youth is wasted on the young. Now that I am a wee bit older, I can understand that expression. To have the wisdom of your years at such a tender age would be marvelous, but then what would be left to learn?

I did eventually marry and have children that are now grown and on their own. While I feel that I could have been a much better mother, as I do not believe I was mother material, I love my children dearly and I believe they love me. I now have grand children that I can spoil and love, but I am getting ahead of myself.

My husband and children eventually settled in Texas. Now, talk about culture shock! It was a small town in Southwest Texas. You had to travel about 250 miles in any direction to get to any big city. Since I was born and raised on the East coast, it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to Philadelphia or New York. I loved being able to get on a train and just go. Musicals, movies, and Broadway! Museums, art galleries, and the Empire State Building, just to name a few things you could see. Living in San Angelo was like living in the desert to me. Once you've seen San Angelo, there is nothing left to see, and it doesn't take very long to see it either. I was depressed and downhearted most of the time. I knew that I could not spend the rest of my life there, and I didn't.

We moved to the Gulf coast after three years. It was a bit better for me because there was Houston and Galveston. Lots of old Victorian buildings and malls! Hurray, I could finally shop and see some history once again. I am sorry all you Texas folks. I don't mean to say that Texas is not wonderful. It really is. But I would much rather visit the state than live there. You would feel the same way if you were misplaced in the east after living most of your life in Texas. I believe we all love were we came from and eventually most of us go back to our roots. Texas is really a beautiful place, but the heat was just too much for me in the southwest, and on the gulf it was just too humid. Yes, it gets humid here, but I lived about five minutes from the water in a town called Lake Jackson. It would be like living at the sea shore here in New Jersey. I am on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so it is not as humid.

We stayed in the Lake Jackson area for three years. I finally decided to go back to college. I didn't do well in high school except in the business courses, and I was afraid of the same thing happening in college. I think that is why I left college the first time. It was a bit intimidating to me then. This time I was going to make it work. The first semester I made the Dean's List. The second semester I was asked to join the Honor Society. Needless to say, I was discovering a part of myself that I didn't know existed. I loved college life and would love to go back. Maybe someday. I graduated with high honors. My mother said to me, "Now why couldn't you have done this when I sent you to college!" My response was, "I wasn't ready then." I was ready now.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and when college was finished, I decided I wanted to come back home. My husband moved back about three months later. He should have stayed in Texas. He never really liked it here anyway. He was a true cowboy and definitely very Texan. We were divorced on Friday, December 13, 1996. At that time, my children were 21 and 27 years of age. It still made an impact on my daughter, the oldest, but I have yet to learn from my son what kind of impact it had on him. Another chapter and verse for a later time. I am now living alone. It is not exactly cheap living on the east coast, but I am surviving, and I am very happy.

My marriage was not a "Leave it to Beaver" type of marriage by any means and we struggled to keep it together. We had a lot of rough times, and though we made it through feeling stronger each time, it wasn't meant to last. I did what I set out to do though. I wanted a family and I had one. I tried my best and I have wonderful children and grandchildren to love and to love me.

My children's father and I did have something wonderful for many years. I was in love with him, and he was in love with me. Someday I will experience that kind of love again. Someday I will find my "Prince Charming." No, I don't live in a fantasy world, but it sure is nice to think that maybe there is a Prince Charming out there for you. I do have to say that I am an incurable romantic. Some of my poems will definitely show that side of me.

I began writing poetry in 1973. Although my poetry remained sporadic between the years of 1973 and 1992, they were very much a part of my heart and my soul. My poetry during this time shows a much darker side of me. After 1993, my poems became more lighthearted. I never thought I could write poetry unless I was feeling depressed. I have since learned to write poems that speak of love, as well as sadness. I love them all. I hope you will too.

You ask what the moral is in this story? Well, I believe you must do what you want to do at the time you intend on doing it. If it is marriage you want and a family, go for it. If it is a career first, then do it. But be happy with the choices you make. I do not regret my choice to get married and have children. I don't regret my past because my marriage didn't work. It was a part of me. It is a part of my children. This was their heritage. I am just in a different place in my life now. Happy and content in the knowledge that I was able to love for as long as I did. I will find love again.

I leave you with a quote that will explain my feelings a lot easier than I can:

Our lives are songs; God writes the words
And we set them to music at pleasure;
And the song grows glad, or sweet or sad,
As we choose to fashion the measure.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox--Our Lives