Saint Valentine

Cherry

By marandina

Tue, 15 Feb 2022
  • 2110 reads
14 comments
 

Audio version at https://soundcloud.com/user-62051685/saint-valentine-mp3

 

Saint Valentine

 

On a day of hearts and roses,

San Valentino loved all, canonised;

a skull crowned with flowers,

sleeping bones below catacombs.

This pious bishop tested in law

to return sight to the blind,

penance of idols ordered broken,

the salvation of souls – baptised.

Selfless offer of Christian redemption

cast out by a faithless son of empire,

condemned to a martyr’s death,

a final dispatch sent as scroll,

solemn words etched in blood,

which read for the rest of time:

“from your Valentine”.

 

Footnote:

St Valentine was a Saint from the third Century commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14th and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6th. As well as being associated with courtly love, he is also the Patron Saint of the city of Terni, epilepsy and beekeepers.

 

Image free to use at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Valentin_Metzinger_-_Sv._Valentin.jpg

Certificate 12
Poem
Miscellaneous Poems
Spiritual

Comments

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Paul,

a fine poem of how Valentine came about. I was reading up the information myself last week, I think you captured the events perfectly. I suppose there's a touch of saddness to this day if you had lived in the past. 

I always loved the Victorian idea of Valentine and their beautiful cards that are filled with beautiful gestures of love...perhaps it's the old romantic in me. wink

Glad to have read your fine poem.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading it, Jenny. Yes, this is the generally accepted account of events but St Valentine is probably an amalgum of different people. As ever with most legends, there is invariably a dark side and this is no exception.

I like the Victorian expression of the occasion as with many things from that era. Maybe there's hope for us old romantics yet :)

Thanks again. Paul

 

Submitted by David Kirtley on

Do we mean that Valentine was not just about love and romance? I have read some suggestions/history about him in the past, but always forget the detail before the next Valentine's Day comes around. Evidently he was an early Christian martyr in Roman times. Your poem evokes the period and the circumstances very well! Very moving. I am still missing much of the detail of his life and story. Probably not that much of it is really understood. You have pointed us in the right direction and given us a good taste of it!

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading it, David. There is heaps of information online about St Valentine and all of the associations. It's actually all very interesting when you dig into the myths behind the legend. Thanks again. Paul

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

An interesting synopsis of what is said about him.

The concept of giving the title 'Saint' and the criteria that is sought for such is really unhelpful and unscriptural, as the word in the Bible is for anyone who truly believes and is therefore 'sanctified', 'counted holy' by faith in Christ. (– even the repentant thief who was crucified with Jesus!) Also the concept of relics is rather akin to idolatory, and from what you write, I would think Vaentine would be horrified by his bones etc being reverenced! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading it, Rhiannon, and for that genuinely interesting observation. I understand St Valentine was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969 due to a lack of verifiable information about him. His remains appear to be in different locations including Ireland spawning pilgrimages.

It's a fascinating legend when you research further and not without controversy when it comes to accuracy.

Thanks again. Paul

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thank you so much for the cherries, ABC Eds. Much appreciated. Paul :)

 

Submitted by jeand on

HI Paul

 

I enjoyed reading this and getting a bit of history as well as the poem I liked the last line especially.

Jean Day

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading it, Jean. Glad you liked it. Paul :)

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

My daughter, who has epilepsy, always maintains that if she finds herself single on St Valentine's day, she can still have a bottle of wine and some chocolates, because he's her saint too. 

Lovely poem, Paul. 

 

Submitted by marandina on

Ah thank you for reading this one, Jane. That's a lovely touch on Valentine's Day re your daughter. Perhaps this poem is a bit dark but, it is where the commercial exercise it is now, originally came from. Thanks again. Paul

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Weird how his letter covered in blood was meant to have started the thing with teddy bears and chocolate. And weird how the greatest gift between states was bits of dead people. Giant Pandas much better. Would  not have known anything about him without your poem. That people still revere a skull with a crown of flowers makes me wonder about people's needs of religion too. That image is one I cannot forget

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading it, Di. Funnily enough, the more fairy tales, myths and legends I look into, the more are based on grim, true life events (or horrific tales) that get sanitised over the years. Still...all those romantic souls get to do their stuff on a dedicated day in February every year. Love is all around us as the song goes. Thanks again. Paul :)

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Yes. Heard a horrific thing about origins of Pied Piper. Hope life never gets that bad again