I must write tonight
The night before Valentine
Of love ---and its might?
For no moment of celebration
Must ever be let go
Like sand through fingers
Blown hither and thither
By winds unbidden.
This I must say:
So easy is to feel love
In heart and bones
For people who are blood.
My son, a symbol of completed womanhood
My daughter, gift of loving motherhood
My parents the cause of my living hood
I love you first.
My husband, the reason for my evolution.
My mother-in-law, the idol for my aging years
My daughter in law the sunshine in my life
Every day, I love you more.
But I must also add:
Each night I have slept
To the safety of my bed,
Wounded and scarred
By the tales of terror
The media blares
Twenty four seven.
Awakened next day
Rested, not healed.
On this Valentine Day
I wish to heal.
To say equally “I love you”
To a “Kasab” or “ Karamabir”.
To children who will not be
“Slumdog Millionaire”.
Yes, this Valentine day
I will pray:
God make me feel love
In heart and bones
For all the good, bad or ugly.
God let this Valentine Day
Stretch and become ,
A full year long.
