My Valentine

By Sharad Nirola 

Every year on a Valentine’s Day

My heart skips a beat,

Recollections of yester years

Come rushing into my mind

I try hard to remember

Who did I give the roses to

Anita? Lilly? Angela ?

With whom did I come close to?

I tried it with Anita first

Emptied out my heart to her

Committed I am, I told her

I’m always yours, come hail and thunder!

The following year I bought roses

Went to wait for her at the same dreamland

She came, she took the roses, said goodbye

And suggested I should forget her.

Then I had a go with Lilly

Who was so gruff and chilly

I tried to drown into the depth of her eyes

Only to be rebuffed and marginalized.

I was pretty sure Angela would be my Valentine

I prayed to St. Augustine to let my dream shine

Angela did come to say hello

With a beauty almost divine

She took the roses, gasped, and said-

“I already have my future defined.”

So you see I’m at the crossroads

With nary a clue as to where I’m going

Valentine’s Day is and has always been
For me

A day to swoon and remain unseen.

Greenbelt, Maryland  02/02/08