»
Archives
»
Open Poetry #37
»
SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY
| Open Poetry #37 |
|
SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY |
|
|
Abe Senior Member
since 2003-05-28
Posts 694Looks like Vero Beach, FL until the end! 
|
SAINT VALENTINE’S DAY As early as the Fourth, B.C. Back in the Roman Nation A girl was assigned a boy For a one year duration. Eight hundred years, a practice Till church fathers sought its end They found the answer in Valentine Who was martyred at his life’s end. Some two hundred years before An edict by Claudius-II Forbade marriage in the Empire (Not too smart a thing to do!) There were forces from within And threats from lands all about The soldier’s wives and families He thought, they could do without. He wanted all his Armies To have but one thing on their mind Hoped that one Love, of Country Would make them a special kind. Valentine, a church bishop Saw young Lovers in their pain He met them in a secret place Brought matrimony back again. He joined them in the sacrament Helped them make their marriage vow Going against the Emperor’s wishes More than his laws would allow. He learned of this “friend of lovers” And had him placed under arrest Tried to convert him to the Roman Gods But Valentine withstood that test. He even tried to turn the tables Show Claudius the Christian way Knowing he would be executed For that was the law of the day. While Valentine awaited his fate He made friends with his jailor Who had a daughter who was blind Who searched for a miraculous cure. Well, Valentine restored her sight Through his faith he claimed, divine Wrote a last farewell note to her And signed it, “From Your Valentine.” February twenty-four, Two Seventy He was executed for his “crime” And thus became a Patron Saint To be remembered for all time. There was an annual festival Young Romans wrote greetings of Love To young ladies they longed to court Which Valentine oversaw from above. The cards were named after him The Fourteenth chosen as the date When those messages were passed around To try to change the Lover’s fate. One of the earliest cards known sent Was by a Duke in Fourteen-Fifteen Preserved in the British Museum Where, still today it can be seen. And to this day, around the World We still send those cards to Lovers Asking, “Valentine, will you be mine?” And sometimes, we even ask some others. Del "Abe" Jones Mankind's greatest accomplishment is not the revolution of technology, it is the evolution of creativity. [This message has been edited by Abe (02-05-2006 09:35 AM).] |
||
| © Copyright 2006 Del - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Susan Caldwell Member Rara Avis
since 2002-12-27
Posts 8348Florida |
 Thank you for that! "too bad ignorance isn't painful" |
||
|
Enchantress Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113Canada eh. |
Well researched and extremely well written Del! I appreciate learning the history of Saint Valentine's Day!  ~Smiles & Hugs, Nancy~ In the midst of winter, |
||
skyshine 
since 2002-02-07
Posts 3058Beneath the northern stars |
I love learning something new, and I learned quite a bit from this poem! Thanks for the lesson, Abe.  ~sky I hope someday you get the chance to live like you were dying.... |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||
