MN poetry: Terri Ford’s “Valentine”
Terri Ford is the author of "Why the Ships are She" and "Hams Beneath the Firmament." She was profiled in June of 2004 in the Minneapolis newspaper City Pages as one of five Minnesota poets who might be the state Poet Laureate if Minnesota had one. She currently lives in triumph in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she hopes to change at least the lipstick on the face of Minnesota poetry.
Valentine
Hovering insectile love. Fretful love, every
two mile check-up love, nerve pill rope-end indecisive highly
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diagnostic love. Bracing love. Speedy
love. Medieval leeching what ho troubadour head-
lopping dulcimer lost
ark love. Manifesto
love. Give up the throne
love. Love as truce. Tectonic plate
rearrangement love. Ultimatum bad
dog love. Ziplock
suffocation love. Bottom
feeder plankton love. Trophy preener
improvement love. Pink pluming
hope burning diary teen
reversion love. Blurt
out love. Perpendicular
gridlock love, hall
monitor love, detention love. Bad
press love. Half-Nelson Gladiator
headlock uncle you say it blood-
spitting hard-breathing down
for count head
injury love. Log-rolling jolly
motion river gusto wet and
galvanized love. Sympathetic
Red Cross love. Sinatra, Iglesias, Don Ho, Yo-
Yo, Dvorák, Monk Chant, Yanni love. Not entirely
believable love. Wild
love, burned at the stake love, iron
lung love, bone marrow pacemaker
toupee love. Love in remission,
amputee love, Federal Witness
Protection love, in hiding subtext
Morse Code spy love. Revisionist
love. Open book test
love. Boundless applause in the front
row love. AFrican trumpeting large
flap love. Stealth Bomber
love. Slow me down
love. Keyhole light
love. Pebbled
bird's egg love. Name it to
your face love, woke
up love, count on it
stouthearted no-leak no-fault
high octane 911 in the daylight unashamed
lon haul fearful but right here intergalactic
Hovercraft love.
- "Valentine" from Where the Ships Are She by Terri Ford. Reprinted with permission of Four Way Books. All rights reserved.