No Valentine

By: Adriana Mucea

.

I don’t need a Valentine. Thank you very much.

I need someone stronger than that.

Someone who is not afraid of my neuroses

Because he’s already been through these.

Someone who is not always ready to combat

All my thoughts and wants.

Someone who is not enraged by my silence

And doesn’t see it as an act of defiance.

Someone who appreciates being given space

Instead of a fake embrace.

Someone who won’t pry ‘Why do you cry?’

.

But just sit with me and stare at the sky.

You see, I need someone who can read between my words

To grasp all the meanings of the verbs

And turn them into simple verses

That only I can make sense of.

So, I’m sure you’re a nice guy

But I don’t need a Valentine.

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Adriana Mucea is a poet and a teacher who lives in Sydney, Australia. Her blackout poetry was published in ‘Whatever’s Left: A Blackout Poetry Zine’ by Coin-Operated Press in 2022. When she is not writing, Adriana enjoys reading short prose and people’s poems.