Valentine's Day

According to Plato, "At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet." DIYers might say, "At the touch of paint, every wall becomes a canvas." So cheesy...I know. But it's Valentine's day, so somehow that makes it okay, right? Since I slacked off on the Valentine's day decor this year (although I did read up on some really fun ideas in Martha Stewart Living's February issue), I thought I'd share a sweet poem written by my sister Hannah's college friend, Randy.

In a defaced bathroom stall in bold black Sharpie, the tribute
in the front cover of the book
you are reading, carved on a tree in the state park
that is older than any person on earth, loopy doodles
dancing merrily along a notebook margin, traced in the snow
or sand, or scrawled on a piece of paper to be passed
across the room, you will find it
in many forms, but always broadcasting the same message.
TC + HM 4EVER, I heart Johnny
It could be as simple as a glossy purple check box
with a shaky, penciled affirmation slashing its simple confession
back to the pink-faced, blue-eyed giggling girl,
or it could be as meticulous as the engraving, orbiting
the inside of the band, the same one
that has been on his now-weathered hand for forty-six years.
I’ve seen it on license plates, decals, pins, bumper stickers,
earrings, arranged in the primary-colored alphabet magnets
on the refrigerator, or a blurry red tattoo
on a grizzled old biker sitting in the truck plaza.
You may find it in the bright pink aisles during February, on cardstock
or silk boxer shorts, or embossed on the shiny surface
of a heart-shaped box of sweets. Regardless
of its source, the reader knows the meaning. Faceless characters
in the shortest stories ever written stage the tiniest plays
all over life’s surfaces, and when fate places the pen
in your trembling hand, write.

Don't you just love it!? What about you guys? What is the most unique way that you've declared your love? Spill the beans!