Special days help to break up the routine, if not some of the monotony of every day living. In that sense do I welcome Valentine’s Day. What I do object to is the crass assaults of the merchandisers on the psyche of both men and women. It is one thing to offer us a choice of gifts. It’s entirely another to bombard us with an advertising blitz weeks in advance of the event. Half in jest then, and with some seriousness I was led to express my feelings in this way:
VALENTINES DAY LAMENT
Dear, do we need this day,
To prove my love for you?
Tell me, why would I stay,
Unless. I really do?
Valentine, could not add
Jot or dot, to our bliss.
Throughout times, good or bad,
You’ve never doubted this.
And yet, you’d hold me to
The slick merchant’s con.
You would be, e’er so blue
If I too, did not fawn.
Must I still jump through hoop?
Romance on bended knee?
Contrived acts do not suit
The love, each day you see.
Each eve, who makes you tea?
Who keeps you warm at night?
When troubled, who, do you see,
Comforts, and holds you tight?
My Love, transcends the test
The profiteers have set.
In daily deeds they rest.
Therefore, I will not fret.
And yet, to bring some cheer
I bring this modest gift.
To you, it must be clear,
My love won’t shift or drift.
Theo. J. de Koning Jan.11 2008
