Valentines Day

HEARTS AND FLOWERS

A day for hearts and flowers
The time to say you care
A chance to tell your loved ones
You're glad that they are there.

But!, wonder why we wait
Until, this certain day
To do those "special" things
And, say those things we say?

Why not? Tell mate or lover
Each day, the whole year through
"Valentine, I'm glad you're mine
And, I sure do love you".

Del �Abe� Jones
2-13-1998

SAINT VALENTINE�S DAY

As early as the Fourth, B.C.
Back in the Roman Nation
A boy was assigned a girl
For a one year duration.

Eight hundred years, a practice
Till church fathers sought its end
They found the answer in Valentine
Who was martyred at his life�s end.

Some two hundred years before
An edict by Claudius-II
Forbade marriage in the Empire
(Not too smart a thing to do!)

There were forces from within
And threats from lands all about
The soldier�s wives and families
He thought, they could do without.

He wanted all his Armies
To have but one thing on their mind
Hoped that one Love, of Country
Would make them a special kind.

Valentine, a church bishop
Saw young Lovers in their pain
He met them in a secret place
Brought matrimony back again.

He joined them in the sacrament
Helped them make their marriage vow
Going against the Emperor�s wishes
More than his laws would allow.

He learned of this �friend of lovers�
And had him placed under arrest
Tried to convert him to the Roman Gods
But Valentine withstood that test.

He even tried to turn the tables
Show Claudius the Christian way
Knowing he would be executed
For that was the law of the day.

While Valentine awaited his fate
He made friends with his jailer
Who had a daughter who was blind
Who searched for a miraculous cure.

Well, Valentine restored her sight
Through his faith he claimed, divine
Wrote a last farewell note to her
And signed it, �From Your Valentine.�

February twenty-four, Two Seventy
He was executed for his �crime�
And thus became a Patron Saint
To be remembered for all time.

There was an annual festival
Young Romans wrote greetings of Love
To young ladies they longed to court
Which Valentine oversaw from above.

The cards were named after him
The Fourteenth chosen as the date
When those messages were passed around
To try to change the Lover�s fate.

One of the earliest cards known sent
Was by a Duke in Fourteen-Fifteen
Preserved in the British Museum
Where, still today it can be seen.

And to this day, around the World
We still send those cards to Lovers
Asking, �Valentine, will you be mine?�
And sometimes, we even ask some others.

Del �Abe� Jones
�© February 3, 2006

A MILLION WAYS

It seems so, that now-a-days
Cards and candy and that stuff
Roses and other pretty flowers
Sometimes, don't seem to be enough.

In this age of self-indulgence
And going to all of those extremes
The true meaning of Valentines
Has gotten lost, somewhere, it seems.

We go out and spend that money
Or use that plastic, if we're broke
To try to convince our partner
To believe, love words we spoke.

But of all those million ways
Of those dollars that we spend
There are just a couple things
To make love last to the end.

To be a friend and confidant
To be there and to reach out
A look, a smile, a loving touch
Is, what it really is all about.

The cards, candy and flowers
And all of those other things
Will never be as important
As the love that the truth brings.

So, go out and get those gifts
That may bring a tear and smile
And then, all other days of the year
Just do those little things, worthwhile.

Del �Abe� Jones
02.11.2006

LONG DISTANCE VALENTINE

You are my Valentine.
Accept the love I give.
A love to last forever
As long as we shall live.

I need your love in return;
Without it, emptiness.
The greatest treasure on this
That we can possess.

I think of you when I'm awake
Dream of you when I sleep;
The thoughts can make me smile,
The dreams can make me weep.

Though we're apart, so many miles,
My love is still with you;
For you are a major part of
Every single thing I do.

So I'll just go on searching,
Trying to find the way
To get you to return to me
To make each a "Valentine's Day".

Del �Abe� Jones

WILL YOU PLEASE BE MY VALENTINE?

Remember when a Valentine
Was just a name that you just drew
And you could give that Paper Heart
To someone you barely knew.

Or you maybe gave your Heart
To everybody in your Class
Drawn and cut, with Your Words
That were so much fun to pass.

And too, those little Candy Hearts
That you used to pass around
Searching Colors and the Words
Until that Perfect One was found.

And remember that Special One
Who made your Heart skip a beat
Who you gave that Special Card
Who gave your Heart a Special Treat.

And remember how easy it was
To tell a Classmate, �I Love You!�
Not just three meaningless words
Cause everyone knew they were True.

Oh, for those Days of Innocence
When everything seemed to be just Fine
And you weren�t afraid to ask aloud,
�Will you please be my Valentine?�

Del �Abe� Jones
2-13-2005

HEART DAY

I'd like to make a Valentine
Especially for you
I'd like to send you flowers
And a box of candy, too,

I'd like to hold you close to me
And whisper in your ear
And tell you all those sweet things
That ladies love to hear.

I'd like to kiss you tenderly
And say, "This day's for you."
I'd like to be your Valentine
And have you be mine, too.

I'd like to do all of these things
But since there is, no way
I'd like to say, "I hope you have
A very happy, Valentines day."

Del "Abe" Jones

FOR A WUVLING

A day for hearts and flowers -
That time of the year -
When I miss you the most
And wish that you were here.

Not really so different
Than any other day -
For, the whole year though
This, my heart has to say

"I love you and miss you, Dear
Though, you're no longer mine -
You are and always will be
My favorite Valentine."

WHAT YOU GOT?

�Don�t matter who you love
Just do it every day
Don�t look over the fence
Think, �There is a better way.

A hand in your hand
Is worth more than, so much
Sometimes there�s nothing more
That�s worth a loving touch.

Sometimes we don�t think
�This is what I want!�
But when, the chance ain�t there
The questions seem to haunt.

�Should I have or shouldn�t?
What if I�d gone there?
Would there be that someone
Who might really care?�

Valentines are someone
Who�ll be there when you�re not
Give their heart and soul for you
And not ask, �What you got?�

Del �Abe� Jones
2.14.2000

SOME DO AND SOME DON�T

If you have a Valentine
If somebody holds your heart
Or if there�s one you want to be
You need to tell them, that�s the start.

If you can reach and touch them
You�re as lucky as can be
�Cause there�s so many all alone
Like those, we�ve sent, across the Sea.

So, let�s say a prayer for them
For, their quick and safe return
Support the loved ones left behind
And learn, their lessons, learned.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder"
Just ask all those who spend that Day
Without a loved one, all alone
And I�m sure that they'd all say,

If you have one treat them well
And hold them, good and tight
Tell them of the love you feel
Each and every, morn and night.

For, there�s some people, go through life
And never have someone to share
A special day, like Valentine�s
And to tell, how much, they care.

Del "Abe" Jones
2-12-2004

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER YEAR

Another day for hearts and flowers �
Another year has come to pass �
Another day of lonely hours �
Another year just like the last �
Another day without a lover �
Another year wanting to share �
Another day like every other �
Another year, no one to care �
Another day searching my soul �
Another year with aching heart �
Another day without a goal �
Another year for love to start �
Another day with empty arms �
Another year with none to hold �
Another day, no lady's charms �
Another year, no story told �
Another day with a sad song �
Another year to try to get
Another day to string along
Another year, for a duet �
Another day of dreams and hope �
Another year out of my time �
Another day to try to cope �
Another year, no Valentine.

Del �Abe� Jones

STILL RACIN�

Please tell me, oh heart of mine
Where did you hide my Valentine
Where did the loving feelings go
That used to make, your beat, race so.

Where do I go to find that touch
Of a warm hand, that meant so much
A look in eyes, without a word
That said those three, I once heard.

�Guess, I should be, heart of mine
Glad, we once had a Valentine
And have those memories we know
That still make, your beat, race so.

Del �Abe� Jones

HEART OF HEARTS

I just want you to know
On this Valentines' Day
How much you mean to me
And what my heart has to say.

Although I can't spend the time
That I would like with you
What little we do share
Makes me love you more, it's true.

I appreciate the moments
When you make my heart soar
Like every time I see you
As you walk in the door.

I know I can't expect you
To feel the same as I
But my hope won't go away
And that's why I have to try.

You're like no other "LADY"
That I have ever known
And I can't help my feelings
Or keep them from being shown.

I wouldn't do it if I could
Because in my heart of hearts
I know it must be faith and trust
Before the real love starts.

Please believe me when I tell you
I will never do you wrong
And if you would let me in
You'd find a love, true and strong.

Maybe I'm just dreaming
And maybe I'm a fool
But I know that love is
The worlds' greatest tool.

So few learn how to use it
Don't see where it ends and starts
But if you let me I will show you
There in your heart of hearts.

Del "Abe" Jones