Happy Valentine's Day! Poem by Leonard Dabydeen

This tiny package you posted to my heart
is stamped with a scarlet rose
and laced with a golden bow
something tells me in this candle light
there is a Dairy Queen confetti inside
and I must open it
with gifted hands
in slow maneuvering I nested
the glass of red wine you offer me
on the Bombay mahogany night table
my first sip
is not to drown the rich chocolaty caramel
of sweetness you feasted in my body
but to implant sobriety to my next move
as I open the package
to display a golden mannequin
with words written in its open arms:
Happy Valentine’s Day! Always loving you! !