Skip the card this year

I'm not normally a sentimental girl, but it never hurts to say something real and loving (yes, both at the same time) to someone you love on Valentine's Day (or anytime).  I have to admit that, having just thrown out another batch of high priced Christmas cards, I'm loathe to invest in any more cliché laden pieces of pretty cardboard. Instead I thought I'd spend my Valentine's Day immersed in a little love poetry.  One of my favourite love poetry collections is Luke Davies Totem.  I also like ee cummings' "speaking of love", and Amiri Baraka's "In Memory of Radio" - two unsentimental but stunning poems that instantly come to mind when I think of love.  Since Feb 14 is fast approaching, I thought I'd do a little recording of one of the poems in the "unconventional love poetry" collection I co-authored with Carolyn Howard-Johnson titled "The Ocean". 

The Ocean

Spotting your face
not for the first time
the transportation
that fractured place
between absolute familiarity
(near invisibility)
and the shock of new.
 
There’s no feature
(as familiar as my own)
not a wrinkle
I haven’t traversed.
 
Yet you turn your profile
in the gentle
fluorescent light
and my audible
(inaudible)
gasp
is the voice
of a girl
discovering
the bountiful
ocean.
 
From now until the 17th of Feb, drop by Smashwords and use coupon code EL42C for a completely free copy of Cherished Pulse.  If you prefer a hard copy, which does make a very attractive (and unsentimental) gift just drop by Amazon.  Happy Valentine's Day to you.  XX