A Valentine Poem

A couple weeks ago, I was looking for something in my Sweetie's "Drawer of Mystery" - that is, the drawer full of miscellaneous papers. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find the Valentine's Day card with poem I made him a couple years ago. I was touched that it was there, sharing space with important documents and passports. I read it, and even with the fresh eyes of time passed, I decided that it wasn't too bad. So at the risk of being exhibitionist, I'll share it with you. Hopefully he'll get another one this year, but you will have to wait a couple more years to read that one. At the time, we'd just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.


Love Poem Number Fifteen

The other fourteen are all here too,
The poems that should have been written long ago.
They swirl around in this one,
gathering like relatives
to look on with awe and envy at the cousin who made it big,
who actually got written.

So all fifteen are here, one for each year,
Here in this poem
And here always shaking around in my little gray cells,
All the words that mean you to me:

Noble, constant, brightness, honorable, anchor, delight,
Steady as the beat of my own heart and much much stronger.

But poetry takes distance and reflection,
Scarce commodities for us these days
And how to capture the thing nearest to me,
Close as my own breath?

That heart monitor I gave you for our anniversary –
It wasn’t about health or weight really.
It was about what I wish I could be to you,
Always present, always steady,
The reason for my existence
to count quietly
each beat of your heart.