Monday 14 February 2011

For S


You know me; you know me better than anyone. Love is important to me; love personally expressed and deeply felt, not empty conventions and social rituals. I admit I have in the past enjoyed the frippery associated with Valentine’s Day – or the festival of Juno, as I have long thought of it -; it flatters my ego, the cards and the gifts, though I was never inclined to take it seriously, or the saccharine sweetness in which the occasion is draped.

Today was different; you made it so special, as if the only people in the world who mattered were the two of us. I write I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful gift, though it seems so hackneyed, so stale. Still, it’s true: I can never thank you enough. This evening was sublime, everything about it: the food, the wine, the setting; you arranged it all perfectly, a perfect surprise.

Who knows what or future will bring, who knows how we will end, but I will always love you for this moment, this perfect moment, those perfect moments. This is why I’m making an open declaration, so all of the people who know us, all of our friends and past lovers, will understand.

All day long I have been working
Now I am tired.
I call: "Where are you?"
But there is only the oak tree rustling in the wind.
The house is very quiet,
The sun shines in on your books,
On your scissors and thimble just put down,
But you are not there.
Suddenly I am lonely:
Where are you?
I go about searching.

Then I see you,
Standing under a spire of pale blue larkspur,
With a basket of roses on your arm.
You are cool, like silver,
And you smile.
I think the Canterbury bells are playing little tunes,
You tell me that the peonies need spraying,
That the columbines have overrun all bounds,
That the pyrus japonica should be cut back and rounded.
You tell me these things.
But I look at you, heart of silver,
White heart-flame of polished silver,
Burning beneath the blue steeples of the larkspur,
And I long to kneel instantly at your feet,
While all about us peal the loud, sweet Te Deums of the Canterbury bells.


17 comments:

  1. Very nice. Happy Feast of Juno to you both.

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  2. I hope that you had a nice Valentine's day!

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  3. He's very lucky.I would have you in my harem any day.

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  4. Very good, Ana. Connection is what matters.

    Coincidentally, I used the line 'The house is very quiet' in a song recently.

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  5. This article is a beautiful way to demonstrate your love, your boyfriend must feel happy, love make better the world, it is great that you feel something special for someone and he too, the "small" things that you do for the love make happiness a reality, all the best for both. A hug. Mario.

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  6. Lovely, Ana! Glad you had such a special day.

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  7. J. Campbell, I would be shared with no other!

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  8. Brendano, yes it is. It's lovely to see you.

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  9. Mario, and the very best to you. :-)

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  10. This is gorgeous Ana, and the joy and love and rapture you've felt is felt throughout the universe. Never doubt that! And so, I rejoice!

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  11. Thank you. It's so sweet of you to say so. :-)

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  12. A beautiful memory captured in beautiful words, Ana. I am delighted for the two of you :)

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  13. Thank you, dear SprigBlossoms. :-)

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  14. It was a bottle of Domaine Romanee Conti, I assume?

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  15. I honestly can't remember. It may very well have been. :-)

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