Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Valentine's Day embodies all that our culture romanticize about love--chocolates, roses, a date with that special someone who thrills our hearts. As a romance writer, love is on my mind a lot! My favorite love poem is 'How Do I Love Thee' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This poem captures the essence of love and goes beyond the superficial trappings of romance to the sacrificial elements of a love that will last the test of time. And I want to give tribute to my own special hero, Warren, who has loved me sacrificially through good times and hard, all the years of our marriage.
How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning - 1806-1861
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