valentine

"It wasn't love at first sight. It took a full five minutes."—Lucille Ball

spare me the shallow red balloons
that wither with dead afternoons,
when sunlight fades
and pulls the shades
o'er cupid's festive morning runes.

spare me the i-love-yous that fly
like cumulus across the sky
only to weep
into the deep,
when valentine whispers goodbye.

spare me the to-do and alarm
whose flippancy brings far more harm
than nothing said
over my bed
that wears the guise of fickle charm.

spare me the promises that leak
away with careless words that speak
with lips alone,
whose undertone
leaves nothing for the heart to seek.

if you would be my valentine,
haste not, in one day, to confine
love's endless feast,
or make the least
of bounty that is yours and mine.

© Copyright 2024 February 14
by Clyve A. Bowen♫