Valentine’s Day 2012

Flowers of various colors and kinds

Speak of an equal variety of love’s expressions;

Yet, all flowers fade, wither, and die,

As, too often, love’s passions wane.

Candies speak of love that is sweet,

Tantalizing the tongue with exotic pleasures;

But tastes change, the desired becoming offensive,

As love, overly protested, questions its sincerity.

Beautiful jewelry and delicate lingerie

Quicken the pulse and brighten the eyes

Of the one receiving them;

Too soon, however, they come to reside

In the darkness of some drawer,

Infrequently, if ever, venturing forth;

Too soon, too, love retreats

To the shadows of the heart,

Failing to temper tongue or hand

In the course of day to day pursuits.

Today, in the place of these,

I simply renew my pledge to you

To listen and to learn, to lift and to wait,

To patiently persevere, to share and to forgive,

And to be the one that God

Appointed me to be in your life.

©Stan Sanford 2012