J -- Jolene

I was struck by what seemed like anguish in the voice of Dolly Parton when she sang, Jolene. It was a song about an unnamed woman who feared that her lover/husband was about to be ensnared by Jolene, against whose superior charms she stood no chance.

I was too young to comprehend anything about the nature of relationships, how complicated and twisted they often got, how they could make a person feel fulfilled and abased in equal measure. And yet I blithely went about singing, Jolene.

In my mind, I seemed to stare wide-eyed at this fearsomely beautiful woman who could take anything she set her heart on, leaving behind broken hearts crumpled in a heap.

My sympathies lay with the unnamed woman whose plea I sang all through the day, unable to get her cry out of my mind. It was as if the childish me was pierced by her pain.

I still hope Jolene moved on to other pastures.