Page 85 - Contrast2016

CONTRAST - 83

VALENTINE TERZA RIMA

BY MARY ELDER

My mother told me once she gave my dad a handmade flowery
Valentine with crisp cut cardstock and pressed petals in shades of grey and blue.
She found it in the trash on the l Sth, not for spite, but for apathy.

I can't promise we won't grow old, but darling I can tell you
For certain we'll never settle into the ground like trees with tired roots,
Never blend into rut or routine like sea glass worn pale through

The ocean's calloused hands. It's true
That life gets boring so let's be anything
But. I have so many plans, pages full of two

Hundred thousand reasons not to grow up, or sing
Church hymns or clip coupons.
Sunday mornings are now for playing

Mismatched guitar chords, playing dress up and going out, out on
The town or only to the living room, always
Dressed for a night of adventure, sometimes for no reason.

We have decades of summers waiting, winning goldfish at the carnival,
Reading in bookstore windows, driving to a mountain to see city lights
Twinkling like fire in black smoke, but you'll still be the prettiest thing I ever saw.

It's true that no one really wants to grow up but everyone does, and time
Will pass till someday we'll do taxes and hire a plumber and paint a kitchen,
But let's never skip a slow dance, miss a chance to kiss, or throwaway a valentine.