Valentine

Valentine
Carol Ann Duffy (1955- )

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy is no stranger to love poetry. She has said that most of her work consists of love poems, claiming that “a guiding impulse for poets down the centuries has been to describe, interrogate and celebrate love, one of the most intense and important of human experiences.” "Valentine" does all of the above.

The poem begins:

Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.