Sanaa has provide a lovely Valentine’s prompt for d’Verse, as follows:

1- Love Potions and Concoctions: Write a poem as a recipe for a love potion. Throw in some berries and cream, maybe a dash of cinnamon and chivalry. Tell us what love means to you.

2- Love Letters Through Time: Write a poem in the form of a love letter. It can be addressed to yourself, to someone special and/or in memory of a person who has passed.

3- Love in a Digital Age: Bring love into the 21st century by exploring the dynamics of modern relationships. I am referring to the age of social media, dating apps, and virtual connections. Let your poem decide whether technology enhances or complicates matters even further.

You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/02/11/poetics-from-your-valentine/

I’ve written a haiban for the love letter prompt.

“Love Letter” Necklace

Sphiwe held up the panelled “love letter” necklace she’d created for her young husband, BongiNkosi. The numerous beads glimmered in the strong summer light. BongiNkosi was working far away on a mine, and this intricately patterned artwork was a secret declaration of her enduring love.

Smiling, she thought back to the early days of their courtship when she was just fourteen years old. After she and BongiNkosi had agreed to proceed with a relationship, she’d fashioned a simple ucu (necklace) made of two strings of twisted white beads to which she’d attached one beaded white ring as a symbol of her virginity. Her iqhikiza (older sister) had presented the gift to her admirer on her behalf. A giggle escaped Sphiwe’s slightly parted lips as she remembered how BongiNkosi had rushed home to hang up a white handkerchief, announcing to the world that he was in love.

As their relationship progressed, Sphiwe had crafted other rings and a second love letter incorporating numerous red beads to demonstrate the evolution of her love and her longing. BongiNkosi had reciprocated by replacing the white handkerchief with a red one.

With one hand on her swollen belly, she kissed the necklace and laid it in a box, ready for travel. It would serve as a reminder of their love and his forthcoming fatherhood until the time was ripe for him to journey home for the birth of his first child.

Red for intense love

Yellow for fertility

Black for our marriage

You can read more about Zulu “Love Letter’ beaded necklaces here: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/uwXhzpYRaUm3JQ

Michael and I have a cute book for children about the Valentine Toffee Cupid.