To all the Valentines

To all the valentines past and present To the hearts kept, broken, lost or found Know that love has been yours, cherished and treasured, Though your love may not be around.

From the perfumed letters sent To the envelopes tenderly kissed. From caressing the ink, sharing loving words To those moments that love was missed. Know that you were loved.

If a poem fell out of a borrowed book If the rain made you lose control. If its mystical tunes made complete sense, Or when you saved a burnt scroll. Know that you were loved. If you crossed a busy street without looking To hasten to your sweethearts’ side. When you hitch-hiked through rubble-laden mountains Alone on a dark summers’ night. Know that you were loved. If you sat under a full moon wondering ‘Could this night last forever?’ When you sat day dreaming in the sunshine - Wondering if the sweet nothings you whispered, were clever. Know that you were loved.

If you ever rambled like a waddling child To profess your admiration. When anothers' affection at yours made you wild - Only to learn it is was pointless frustration. Know that you were loved.

If you held a hand while its body wept Or offered a shoulder to cry on. When you cared enough, but never said how much Yet remained their strength to rely on. Know that you were loved. If you heard the ocean waves crash far below As your coffee cooled too quickly. If, when you parted - it rained like crazy. The tears lingered on your sleeve, like the clouds bearing rain. Know that you were loved.

Know: you were the love of someone’s life You brought them happiness, just because. Your definitions of love – might not be the same But, to that person, it was.

You gave, you shared, you were there When you only hoped for love in return They shared their life, with that part of you- How could love be anything else? Know: those moments of shared, parted, or redefined ‘love’ Live in only memory, making one yearn - Some continue to warm and soothe a soul Some continue to burn. Know: some memories bring joyful remembrances’, Some, of secrets kept. Some remind one of happy moments, And days of blissful neglect.

In all those moments of happy or sad One relives the togetherness, the ‘love’ that once was. Reflects and remembers, One reminisces about the warmth of love, And, in those moments – we pause. February 14, 2012 © Nandita Godbole