I personally don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, I think it’s a silly, invented holiday that holds no meaning. It’s fine if others want to celebrate, it’s just not a holiday that speaks to me.

Ted Kooser, former Poet Laureate, used to send some 700 people a poem on Valentine’s day. These were people he met at readings, friends, random strangers who asked to be included in the mailing. Eventually  he stopped doing it and published a book of these poems called Valentines. It’s not really my kind of poetry but I know it appeals to some people.

I don’t write a lot of love poems. I’ve written my fair share of heartache and heartbreak and go-fuck-yourself-I-don’t-love-you-anymore poems of course, but those aren’t the ones you want to read while gazing into the eyes of your beloved. So I figured in honor of Valentine’s Day I’d try to write a love poem. And this week’s poetry workshop was titled LOVE POEMS. So I figured I’d better dust off my cold, stony heart and write some pretty words. 😉

Love is a Lesion on Your Brain

When the headaches started again you offered

Ibuprofen and water and drawn shades.

When I woke in the middle of the night sobbing

you broke out the Valium and Percocet

and told me not to cry because that makes it worse,

then held me till I fell into a drug-induced stupor.

In the quest to make the pain stop

prescription bottle lines the bathroom sink

like dominoes, knock one down

and watch me fall deeper into the pain.

When the neurologist said, we found something,

you sat with me and when the neurosurgeon

photographed every slice and angle

of the lesion I would eventually name Napoleon

you offered to shave your head if I needed brain surgery.

I walk in the door and you read my expression,

knowing if it’s a night for wine or a night for quiet darkness –

you’ve learned to read the foreign tongue of my headaches,

the Braille of my unsaid expressions.

I can’t furrow my brow because of the Botox

they’ve injected under my skin

but I’m worried what this stress is doing to you.

My head hasn’t stopped screaming for six months

but at least it’s screaming I fucking love you.

I’m dizzy from the drugs,

I stand and sway,

you steady me with the calming presence

of your  hand on my back and I realize

I feel drunk – your love spinning my senses.

After I wrote that poem I turned to Jay, who was sitting in the next room and said, “I wrote you a poem.” He replied, “You wrote me a poem?” I smiled, “Yeah, it’s a love poem about my headaches. Because that’s what love is baby, it’s a lesion on my brain.” And that’s where the poem’s title comes from.

And then, whilst perusing on the interwebs, listening to poetry – yes, I really do this – I found this poem, which I found touching and heartbreaking all at once. Lines #8 and #13 are my favorite, but it’s a wonderful poem in its entirety. Give it a listen.

And then there’s this famous poem which is apparently the most watched poem on the internet. It’s about love and madness and how they intertwine.

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What’s your favorite love poem? What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?