Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.

It promises light

like the careful undressing of love.

Here.

It will blind you with tears

like a lover.

It will make your reflection

a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.

Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,

possessive and faithful

as we are,

for as long as we are.

Take it.

Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,

if you like.

Lethal.

Its scent will cling to your fingers,

cling to your knife.

-This poem is to date, my top favourite love poem as it portrays love exactly as it is. It is realistic in which it says that love will make you cry but eventually when you've peeled through to the last loop of the onion, it becomes a wedding ring- symbolic of endless love. Right at the beginning it rejects the cliche of the red rose by saying "Not a red rose", because red roses are so commonly used that the choice to give one is like thoughtlessly saying "I love you".