I know some people make a big deal of it, but that tends to diminish over the years when a couple have been together for a long time.
As half of one of those couples, I decided to create some attractive yet practical greetings that might come in handy for couples like us. In the interests of quality assurance, these have been road-tested on my husband, who laughed a bit.
You’re welcome to use any or all of these in order to win favor with your beloved, or just for a bit of fun.
I remember as a child going to visit friends of my parents’ for dinner, and being served a dessert called Ambrosia. I had never heard of it before, and I remember being amazed by how sweet and delightful it was. The sensation of wanting more when the little dish set before me was empty is still a very clear memory.
When I was a bit older and started reading about history, I discovered that ambrosia was a mythical substance that, having been brought to the Ancient Greek Gods by doves, became their food of choice, along with their favoured drink, nectar. Ambrosia and nectar may have even originally been the same thing, but Homer and Sappho both distinguish between them. Given that they were present in Ancient Greece and I was not. their authority on the matter is something I am willing to accept.
Ambrosia was understood to be fragrant, powerful and reserved for the gods, who adored it because of its healing and cleansing powers, and because it took years off their physical ages. It filled them with passion and made them desirable. Little wonder, then, that they wanted to keep it for themselves!
In time, ‘ambrosia’ was a term that became popular among the Romans as any delightful essence or concoction of food or drink, and then may have given rise to the idea of “the elixir of life” that people have been searching for ever since.
It was the concept of drinking something that resulted in passion that lasted for eternity that caused me to write my poem Ambrosia about the power of a lover’s effect on one’s life and soul. I wanted to capture that heady, addictive feeling between lovers that makes them believe nothing and nobody else matters, and that their love transcends time, place and physical limitations.
Anyone who has experienced those feelings will relate. Anyone who has landed hard on their posterior after doing something stupid for love will probably relate, but may also mutter uncharitable things about love and romance under their breath. Those who haven’t experienced it may scoff.
Yet the feelings and experiences described in the poem do exist, and they are what the celebration of Valentine’s Day has come to be all about: it’s the kind of love that everyone wants to find and experience, although it’s fair to say that not everyone does.
We must remember, after all, that the legend of Valentines Day was never about flowers, candlelight dinners and fairy-tale, kissy-face wedding proposals: it began with a man being executed for something he believed in.
At any rate, I wrote Ambrosia in honour of the love of my life who, after many years together, still hasn’t driven me to drink. I have, however, been known to do take a risk or two for the love of him from time to time, so it’s an appropriate poem to share on Valentine’s Day.
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Ambrosia is publshed in my book, Smoke and Shadows.
Apparently, that’s been a “thing” for several years now. The first I heard of it, though, was earlier today when I saw a post – one post – on Twitter. Why have I never heard of this before? Why aren’t bookstores and publishers worldwide promoting this? Why have I been conditioned all my life to hope for a rose or a card that usually doesn’t materialise, when I could have been my own best friend and presented myself with a book instead? That, my friends, is absolute rubbish!
An international day for giving and receiving books is an idea that really appeals to me on so many levels. In just five minutes, I came up with these reasons why books are better than roses, chocolates, and drugs:
Books don’t die like flowers do.
Books don’t make you fat or mess with your blood glucose like chocolates do.
Nobody judges you for showing off your new book on social media. (Unless, of course, you’re an author and you wrote the book, in which case people complain because you’re somehow pressuring them to support you or asking them for money, which just isn’t the done thing, despite the fact that you’ve supported their careers in plastic kitchenware, fancy saucepans, designer linen ware, boutique underwear, party plan beauty products, and whatever other blarney they’ve asked you to buy. But that’s different, and I digress. And I’m not jaded, okay?)
You can stay home with a book and consume it as greedily as you wish without losing any respect.
Books are budget friendly. Do you have any idea how many books you could buy for the price of a bunch of long-stemmed roses in the middle of February?
Books are an investment in your mind and your soul.
Books are an investment in an author who will be more than happy to write more books for you to enjoy. It’s the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.
Books provide the most budget-friendly and instant escape from reality available to humanity.
Books won’t land you in rehab.
There is no law against driving with stories, ideas and knowledge in your system.
Not bad, eh?
So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and give someone you love, or yourself, a book.
If you’d like to suggest more reasons why books are better gifts than flowers and chocolates, feel free to leave them in a comment.
In addition to being Women in Horror Month, February is also celebrated worldwide as the month of love. Valentines Day is the most popular day for declarations of love, marriage proposals, fancy dinners, and gifts of long stemmed roses and chocolates.
We all know, though, that these things aren’t really what love is all about. It’s way more complex, and far more frustrating, than that.
I’ve been privileged to be part of a group of authors who have collected excerpts about different aspects of love from their books into ‘All About Love’ an online magazine, completely free for all readers, which is available now for your reading pleasure. I’m not someone who enjoys reading a lot of romance, especially if it’s clichéd, but I’ve enjoyed reading this magazine because the pieces are varied and interesting, and have been drawn from different genres and styles of writing.
If reading about love and romance doesn’t interest you, feel free to keep scrolling past. We won’t be offended. But for all the romantics, the dreamers, the lovers and the hopeful folk out there – this one’s for you.
We hope that you enjoy this collection, and that you find some great books in there that you’d like to read in full.
WordyNerdBird 