Dakota Beacon

It is that time of year again and Valentine’s Day fast approaches! What is a lover to do when ingenuity strives to meet expectations?

Whether the man pursues the woman, or the woman leads the man unwittingly down the primrose path, eventually people face a choice. Either they muster all the creativity possible, or they walk the same old path trodden last year and the year before. The challenge: Valentine’s Day must draw out creativity beyond even that of birthdays and anniversaries.

On the material side, thoughts immediately turn to gifts, notions, and trinkets. Presents should demonstrate your knowledge of the recipient’s personality. Valentine gifts also prove whether the giver noted the hints, clues, and words provided over time.

For inspiration, rise above the material and think of love. Over the centuries, poets have sung in praise of love. Sadly, the realm of Instagram and TikTok have outpaced the sensual world of poetry. Expressions of the heart from yesterday now seem vaguely alien.

What better way to prepare for Valentine’s Day than to recall the great love poems? Lyrical expressions of tenderness and passion touch a person’s spirit and set the mood. What follows is far more than greeting card jingles. From the Bible to William Shakespeare to Walt Whitman to Emily Dickinson, the joys and sorrows, the agonies and ecstasies of love are universal and unchanging.

Read the poem slowly. Then read it again paying attention to the punctuation, foot, and meter. Read aloud as poetry is supposed to be read, not silently skimming over the lines. Absorb the lines with the heart rather than the head.

Some love poems may admonish lovers to act NOW as in Robert Herrick’s poem To the Virgins to Make Much of Time. “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.” A similar sentiment comes from Charles Sydney’s poem Song. “My love is selfish and unfair, Her kisses fall so thick and fast; That while I wait to give my share, The priceless time is past.”

Other poets attempt to define love. “O my Luve’s like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June; O my Luve’s like the melodie That’s sweetly played in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry.” This is from Robert Burns’s poem A Red, Red Rose.

Once a pair comes together, poets sing the joys of love in deference to the lovers. William Wordsworth does just this in Strange Fits of Passion I Have Known.

Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, husband and wife, lived loving adult lives together. They composed and exchanged beautiful love lyrics with each other.

A strange but charming description of love is found in Upon Julia’s Clothes, another of Robert Herrick’s poems. “Whenas in silks my Julia goes Then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free; O, how that glittering taketh me!”

Poets sometimes comment on each other’s love poems. So, it was between Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh. In The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, Christopher Marlowe begins, “Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dales and fields, Or woods and steepy mountains yields.”

In The Nymph’s Reply, Sir Walter Raleigh begins his response saying, “If that the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd’s tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy love.”

Love may bloom and grow, or it may fade away and die. Difficult parting may be done in style. See Lord Byron’s poem. “So, we’ll go no more a-roving so late into the night, though the heart be still as loving, and the moon be still as bright. For the sword outwears its sheath, and the soul wears out the breast, and the heart must pause to breathe, and love itself have rest. Though the night was made for loving, and the day returns too soon, yet we’ll go no more a-roving by the light of the moon.”

Time comes when a person departs this world. One lover leaves behind the other in a shadowy world of memories. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s To Helen, John Donne’s The Dream, and Matthew Arnold’s Longing express these parting sentiments.

Folks, go back to basics. Men, try holding the door for your lady. Ladies, acknowledge the special attention your man gives to you. Be available for each other. Sacrifice other interests for your lover.

Words are sweet and chocolates sweeter, but one thing ranks far higher. Words and gifts pale before one’s behavior. If a person behaves like a jerk 364 days a year, why would anyone think that sweet words and flowers on Valentine’s Day will warm their beloved’s heart? If behavior does not match the love tokens, the giver will be seen for what they are -- shallow and phony.

On the other hand, if a person is characteristically decent, considerate, and caring, then words and trinkets become icing on the cake. They exist as something more than crude bartering material.

Love, indeed, makes the world go ‘round. Practice it and reap its rewards. Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers!

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).