Solis

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.

Take it.

Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

"Valentine" by Carol Ann Duffy. I deleted one verse that, given the addressee, would be misleading and uncomfortable. Duffy is the poet laureate of the United Kingdom in 2009, the firs woman, the first bisexual and the first Scot to hold the position. Her collections include Standing Female Nude (1985) and Rapture (2005).