Valentine’s is supposed to be about love and couples but since I had my children 4 decades ago,  it was more about LOVE for anyone who is very special to you, especially my immediate family. 

I remember cutting out Valentine cards to share at school to those “special people” …if it was someone, we had a little crush on, we did not sign it. I also helped my children cut theirs out as well and in this generation, they seem to include more people.  I am hoping that is indicative of the world we now live in…to be kind to one another…to show support and caring.

The media shows us the opposite because unfortunately “tragedy sells.”  Yet, with all that has been going on in the world in the past two years, I am sick of giving attention to sadness, cruelty, and hardships. I am not saying I want to live in a bubble, but I/we DO need balance…knowing about kindness and how wonderful many people have come forward to help one another warms my heart and that too should be in the media…not just an addendum at the end of the news.

One thing I have loved doing in the past few years is writing my own greeting cards and sending them out to some friends far and near…mostly friends who live alone like me.

I do not know about you but when I get something in the mail, I get so excited…I run upstairs and put the envelope on the dining room table and make myself a cuppa tea and then I sit down and savour it. Sometimes it is one line and other times it is a bit longer but the fact that someone cared enough to write something on paper, put it in an envelope, sealed it with love, addressed it with care and attention, put a stamp and walked or drove to drop it off in a mailbox means so much!

I had another selfish reason to do this as well. It inspires me to write a poem and talk in writing to a friend, and forcing me to walk to the nearest mailbox which is 1 km away…so it is also beneficial to my physical and mental health to walk which is something I have not done much this winter especially since my fall early in January. It made me wary of walking on icy sidewalks.

I often try to spread out the cards so I have to go out more often. 

This is a troiku (new form of haiku created by Chevrefeuille, at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai I wrote a few days ago, that made me think of my friends this valentine week.

 

greyness lingers
lockdowns hold us prisoners
when will winter leave?

greyness lingers
looking for a bit of light
shining in my heart

lockdowns hold us prisoners
soon the days shall pass
Oh, see the light shine

when will winter leave?
thankful for a caring friend
brightens every day

© tournesol 2022-2-11

 
la grisaille s’attarde
les confinements emprisonnent
l’hiver nous quittera quand?

la grisaille s’attarde
mon cœur s’alimente à la poursuite
de la lumière

les confinements emprisonnent
bientôt le jour va paraitre
voilà, luminescence

enfin l’hiver nous quitte
enchantée d’une amie dévouée
égaiera chaque jour

© tournesol 2022-2-11