two skunks for a valentine

Last night we spent a more than lovely evening at the Hunts'. I simply adore sitting round the kitchen table for hours and listening, talking, and laughing (oh, and, of course, eating!). Such pure happiness fills me up when I'm with loved ones.

So, yesterday was the day of love, eh? One of my favorite poems is "Valentine for Ernest Mann" by Naomi Shihab Nye. Contrary to what the poem's title might suggest, the poem is much more about poetry and finding poetry in the things which make up our everyday lives. Anyway, I thought I'd share:

Valentine for Ernest Mann

by Naomi Shihab Nye

You can't order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two"
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address,
write me a poem," deserves something in reply.
So I'll tell you a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.

Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"I thought they had such beautiful eyes."
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been
hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.

Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us,
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but

not quite.

And let me know.