Happy Valentine's Day from Daily Info! Whatever love you're celebrating today, we hope you're doing it in style. In the spirit of the season, we're delighted to share the winning pieces from our Valentine's Poetry Competition - we hope they warm your hearts as much as they did ours!
Lay All Your Love on Me (Adaptive Love) - Lindsay Partridge
To my amazing husband
Planes and trains couldn’t take us,
but the car could
a road trip, just us.
Chemo made me heavy,
so you skipped the roses,
brought the car instead.
ABBA blared,
Lay All Your Love on Me,
and we drove, and drove
down memory-lane highways.
Tenby, Fishguard, Haverfordwest –
places from my childhood
you remembered
Sitting still as you steered,
this became our Valentine’s date.
You packed a flask,
a hot water bottle,
a blanket snug and warm –
pure love, pure care.
I rested.
You drove.
The road did the work
my body could not.
Cancer tried to steal my pep,
but forgot: love isn’t counted in energy points.
That day, love was laughter,
music, blankets, hot drinks,
a dash of madness,
a mountain of care,
and all your love
laid gently on me.
Ten years on,
I still feel it –
every mile, every song, every pause.
Valentine’s wasn’t roses that year;
it was a journey.
Love drove us home
Every year since Roses followed
What Is Love OX4? - Richard Saint
George is loved by Delila.
Poor cow! It is a pity.
I've heard he's got two other sorts
Elsewhere in this city.
Then there's Rose, up on the hill
And her Grand Romance with Alice.
T'was little more than holding hands
In the back of the Picture Palace.
Says Florence, from the Plaza Park,
"This online dating looks like hell!"
She holds no wish to sell her soul
Nor get a BBL.
Olivia sits in the temple
And prays she'll marry Morris.
A minor snag, he's long since left,
If Lee's about, he's on a promise.
Beneath Sir Sun, and the Star,
Our lovelorn land of folly.
You're Oxford blue - no cards for you,
And curse these postboys, jolly.
A huge congratulations to Richard and Lindsay, we hope you enjoy your well-earned Valentine's nights out! And thank you so much to everyone who submitted their poems to us; we were impressed by every single one and always delighted to see how many talented wordsmiths follow Daily Info. Keep your eyes on our Competition page for our next giveaway!