“Valentine love in the nostalgia”

In the attic of my memory, where apricot dusk would beam,  
I find a Valentine—the fragile paper heart of a dream.  
Its lace edges curl with the hush of sepia years,  
Ink faded from longing, petals pressed soft in old tears.

Remember the pink envelopes, sealed with a trembling blush—  
How laughter danced through hallways, how moons slipped by in a hush?  
The mailbox was a promise, red-ribboned and sweet,  
Full of crayon-glossed words where innocence and fancy meet.

And you—were you real, or just hope beneath winter’s gray?  
A glimmer caught in tulip bulbs and letters gone astray.  
We passed secret notes folded like tiny two-winged birds,  
Tucked under textbooks, scrawled with clumsy, earnest words.

Oh, smell of carnations, box of chocolates half-eaten—  
Do you linger in corners where young hearts were beaten?  
Sunbeams through glass cast our shadows in pairs,  
Tape-and-glitter declarations looped shyly down stairs.

Now time ties its ribbons in silver-stitched bows,  
And Valentine’s Day, like a wild rose, still grows  
Somewhere behind calendars, patient and bright,  
Where memory tiptoes on the lace edge of night.

So, here’s to the love that nostalgia recalls—  
First dances in gyms, red hearts on gym walls.  
A child's hope, unbroken, still fluttering above—  
For Valentine’s greatest magic is the memory of love.

Create Your Own Poem | Recent Poems