On this Valentine’s Day,
When everyone is thinking of love,
Or wishing for love,
Or claiming and proclaiming love,
I wake to joy.

I wake to a warm memory of a cold night.
I wake to smile at the edges of delight
Sketched on my memory.
The evidence of love in the simple,
More than the spectacular.

To watch a mother watch her children dance,
To join friends sharing whiskey, wine and cheese,
To see a daughter revel in her daddy’s joy,
Is to cuddle up close to the warmth
Of deeper flames.

Was that a shiver of cold or of delight?
The exquisite splash of note and tone,
The words that speak to simple truths,
Of dusty memories and faithful harmonies.
It makes the singers giddy. Completely.

I know it, too …
The sweet tug of love expressed in apricot pies,
It sings within my soul.
Not loud, but oh, so very real.
And I am grateful.