Valentine’s Day has never been a favorite day of mine except back in elementary school when we were handed plain shoeboxes and told to transform them into magical Valentine mailboxes. For a fairly ordinary/tomboy kid like me, this felt like alchemy. The anticipation! What Valentine would I get? Who would give me the one I’d immediately overanalyze? Wait… what? You like me, kind of like me? O youth, when my self-worth arrived folded inside construction-paper hearts and I happily handed my validation over to whoever signed their name with a heart and an xo. I was the kid who always worried I’d get zero cards. Even when Mrs. Crandall made sure there was a Valentine for every child, I was so sure that I would come to my box and find it empty. (Very Charlie Brown “I got a rock”). The thing was—I was not a “cute girl,” and Valentine’s Day seemed to be created for cute people. I mean, looking back now, I love who I was, but I was not what you called “the standard beauty” or even “pretty.” (Note: both in quotes because I think if I designed the standard for beauty, it would be women with short hair wearing comfy clothes and men with face stubble in argyle socks.) As the youngest of five sisters, no one bothered to tell me that some people actually cared about combed hair—who knew?! My Nana used to say about my hair, “Your hair is like heaven, there is no parting there.” It took me years to understand that saying and that I was a messy kid, probably still am. I was a connoisseur of dirt and sports, I hated dresses and many times felt more comfortable playing with boys because I didn’t like “girl” toys or understand curling irons or pink or dolls. I was collecting baseball cards and building a Matchbox racetrack in our rec-room. But Valentine’s Day? It opened up a different part of me as I loved writing notes, signing cards, and making AND getting valentines, which brings us to today and why I make valentine postcards every year. This year, I have two for you—but I am also bringing back a few from the past so you can choose which Valentine’s best for you. 
Also, if you’re curious to learn more about June Jordan’s quote and the poem it came from, do check out this commentary by Jade Kastel for Tri States Public Radio.
But also hello e.e. cummings in 2023:
Langston from 2017:
Anne Sexton from 2020 (right before the pandemic when the world was strange):
Below is the first valentine postcard I made (2011) —I apparently didn’t have much time that year as that’s a photo I took on a writing residency and I just chose some fancy font to write “poetry” on the egg. Well, it was the beginning. . .
But I saw this on social media and it hit me—maybe this is our Valentine. A small reminder that we are all passing through this place, which is exactly why loving each other matters.
I hope you get the valentine and Valentine’s Day of your choosing. Be good to yourself today—whatever that looks like to you.❤️ Sending peace, love, and poetry,
📍Where to find me: Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, In Love with Joy Current Devotion (coming soon):
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Saturday, February 14, 2026
My Love/Hate Relationship with Valentine's Day...
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