Month: February 2023

Sonnet 573

On By Loubert S SuddabyIn PoemsLeave a comment
A priest named Valentino, one dark day,
Gave up his heart and soul for love’s own cause;
He blessed young men in marriage to allay
Conscription to cruel wars of Claudius.
In chains, attended by his jailer’s daughter
He cured the blindness she had borne from birth—
Perhaps that Heav’n might stay the coming slaughter,
And he fulfill God’s labor here on earth.
This miracle did not persuade his captors,
His death was set the morrow after dawn;
That eve he gave dear Julia a letter—
Its content signed by Valentino’s hand.
That fateful missive, sealed by faith and time;
Still bleeds in red—on every Valentine.

© Loubert S. Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

Sonnet 572

On By Loubert S SuddabyIn PoemsLeave a comment
Would it then please if I, your Valentine
Should proffer love upon a bended knee,
And might you then, by ardor’s grace divine
There clasp that heart bestowed so graciously?
And pray, would you adore the flowers I bring
Or wear with joy the tokens that I bear?
Why then perhaps the sweetest birds might sing
As love now bravely knocks upon your door.
Alas—I fear you scarcely know my name,
For still I worship you from realms afar;
Not timid fervor but some fear within
Keeps that door closed, though it seems left ajar.
I stand here fettered by my own love’s might—
By limbs made weak each time you grace my sight.

© Loubert S. Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.