i once sent you a valentine
the kind only shy boys send
where even anonymous
reveals too much
and
– I love you –
is never penned

i could have slipped it
under your door
furtively placed it
in a bag
dropped it
by a pigeon-hole
but I took the bus to Gloucester

the trip
I don’t remember now
or how I found the courage
to let the card
slip
from my hand
into the darkness
of unknown consequences

valentines night
together –

with a band of SCA volunteers
walking wintry February lanes
torchlight
streetlight
starlight
breath hanging in chilly air
visiting those marginalised
just for their learning disabilities –

I felt you knew
sensed it in the atmosphere
conceivably my face
just cried out
Gloucester!

you said
– did you send any cards? –
i said
looking at traces
i couldn’t read
– no –

You smiled
lightly brushed my back
with mitten hands
carrying on with lives
never to be knit

copyright ashyvicar2019