THINKING ABOUT VALENTINE’S DAY

An acrostic poem is a type of poetry where the first, last or other letters in a line spell out a particular word or phrase. The most common and simple form of an acrostic poem is where the first letters of each line spell out the word or phrase. [Note that the start and end of each line in this give the letters for Valentines Day—as well as making a darn good poem. Ariele]

(A QUADRUPLE ACROSTIC POEM)

THINKING ABOUT VALENTINE’S DAY

velvet red box chocolates gone in lip-licking improv

vanilla scent sweetness salivation—oh Pavlov

aroma lingering sparked memories throbbing aorta

arrows aim shot hitting Cupid bullseye arena

love smooth as schmearing cream cheese on bagel

lasting affections, tick-of-time need not level

emotions rise like an ocean transported bottle-note

ebbing belief roared an unusual tsunami tote

nightfall coral sunset declaring darkness until dawn

nocturnal dreamland joined, pillow bed pawn

teardrops answer radio replaying oldies to the past

tender Barry White crooned, romance at last

imagine spaghetti dinners lacking luscious spumoni

insert magic feather into hat, shout macaroni

nibble mistakes in tunnel of time becoming human

no-regrets-flavored lollipop in future reunion

enduring images dusted off recalling a kiss goodbye

emancipated ghost rush past blinking red eye

shadows in night awaken soft imaginary lip touches

sweet delusions holding lost endless clutches

delicious flavors restore warm taste buds embraced

decorate crème brulee fire-burnt sugar cased

amour remembered like layering flavors for lasagna

ablaze reminiscence wait welcoming mañana

you were sugar, spice, and roses on Valentine’s Day

yearning to love one more cheerful yesterday

I love a challenge. I enjoy short stories, and discovered a bonus of poetry. I found acrostic poetry on the internet—children make poems with the letters of their names. I started with Merry Christmas, jumped to a double acrostic for Happy New Year, and discovered the second lines made the poem a triple acrostic. I showed a friend, who dared me to do a quadruple acrostic: dare accepted. I hope you like my four pillars of Valentine’s Day. Sincerely, April Ryan

CHALLENGE: Do an acrostic poem and send it to ariele@comcast.net for possible publication in Sharing Stories or Northwest Prime Time's paper version.

April Ryan was a Metro bus driver for 27 years. She joined Ariele Huff’s Edmonds Senior Center Ongoing Writing Group many years ago.

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).

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