FOR MARY JANE.
Today we are obliged to be romantic
And think of yet another valentine.
We know the rules and we are both pedantic:
Today’s the day we have to be romantic.
Our love is old and sure, not new and frantic.
You know I’m yours and I know you are mine.
And saying that has made me feel romantic,
My dearest love, my darling valentine.
“Another Valentine” by Wendy Cope
I love how the attitude switches halfway through the poem. And it affirms a theory studied in psychology, that if we go through the motions of something we often end up with the emotion or attitude that corresponds to it. For example, one experiment had people clench a pencil between their teeth, which results in an expression that uses the muscles we use to smile. Those people reported feeling happier.
Pater Familias had been snowed in for a while and was worried about not having a valentine for me. And then he found the perfect, most perfect one. I love this poem. It really says everything. I gave Pater F. a little box of those chalky hearts with sentiments printed on them. He left one next to my computer that said Only You. A very romantic day, even though that was the day I also fell on my face.