Once again, to honor Valentine's Day, The Bellingham Herald asked Whatcom County residents to submit love poems they've written. Once again, they responded in bountiful fashion.

First Blush

Have you been to Artist Point to see the sunrise?

a young man asks a young woman. They are just

ahead of me on the bay trail. Yes, she says softly.

He adds, It's the most amazing sight in the world.

I think I know what he means: how dawn enfolds,

the crisp air and sense of deep snow, the bulks

of mountains haloed by the first blush of sunrise

sky, and the gathering light making the world new.

They walk very close to each other. Their hips

sway in time and their shoulders nearly touch.

I pass but don't look at them. I won't intrude;

I want them to continue on, and not be ill at ease.

We can't know how many dawns will enfold us

after this one. I continue on. My tread lightens, my

mood lifts. I smile to myself at this first blush of

gathering love, at these two making the world new.

- Andrew Shattuck McBride, Bellingham

On the Anniversary of Our Hand-fasting

This photograph holds us suspended

in that bright place

where we became husband

and husband,

wife and wife. Our hands are clasped

together, the scarlet sash winds up our arms,

a silken snake binding us close. We cannot run

from this resolve, to speak aloud vows we have

lived but never voiced, each word

a new green shoot entwining us,

each note echoing

across the wide blue expanse, from my shore

to your shore.

Afterwards, at home in our own bed in the gathering

dark, we kindled the early spring night

and were changed.

- Kate Miller, Bellingham

No flowers

no flowers

no chocolates

no card

!

just your shoulder:

and my head

resting there

- Richard Blake, Bellingham

Valentine

for L

My desire grows:

the ur-desire

to press myself against your soul

touch your spirit

ignite between us a new light.

Not just when we are together, but apart;

not just when we are apart, but together,

you intensify within me.

I sit in the fuzzy disarray of your departure,

wild-haired and smiling,

mermaid still slippery

where you have unlocked

the tight press of my scales,

where we have slid together

into this new ocean.

- J.I. Kleinberg, Bellingham

Driving Home After Our First Night

driving home after our first night

the wind-splayed snow

slick and frigid, a gift.

pieces of that snow rise from a field

wavering doors working back and forth

between the cold sky and the cold earth.

a pair of tundra swans

- pure startling white against

the dense gelid grey -

veer across my path.

silent. black eyes. black feet.

exact, precise, gracefully floating

into the unknown

— Luther Allen, Sumas Mountain

This Morning

With your kiss awake

on my lips

I am born

and the sheets

are incense

and flannel

and the sun

is the music

of a winter wren

and a golden animal

runs off

with my heart.

- James Bertolino, Whatcom County

gentle love

go gentle in this world

the one you have rejected

needs your touch

not your turning away

as does the one in the mirror

and the one you were

back then

and the one you are afraid

you have become

and the one you fear

you will never be

— Phyllis Boernke, Deming

Solitaire

September arrives.

Deadlines approach.

Hours disappear.

I strive to crystallize their meaning

as a child might seek a lost love

among strangers.

It grows dark.

Nights seem to spin themselves

Into the fabric of a dream.

Days shuffle by,

or rush headlong out of control,

a calendar of numbers.

Faces pass without meaning.

Crisp scenes escape, remnants remain.

Clothed in a worn beige coat,

she reaches out. I hold her briefly.

Her silver hair glistens

in the waning summer afternoon.

We sit sifting softly through our words,

seeking a greater voice,

hands across our table touching,

as if it means more than I dare to mean.

There is a fragile path in her quiet smile

waiting to be explored.

I hear the melody of her voice, sense the soft textures

that lie hidden beneath her surfaces, revel

in the eternal essence of her

that clings and saturates my vision.

Together at a reading, our symmetry binds us.

Words disappear, her presence so intense

that all else becomes white noise.

I trace her outline in the quiet dark,

the luxury of a final glance,

the soft sound of departing footsteps.

Nothing deafens

like the anguish of good by.

- Jim Milstead, Bellingham

Eulogy

When I think of Rolf I think of rivers:

Long rivers, skinny rivers,

Rivers with boulders and pebbly beaches,

Rivers flowing swift at high water,

Rivers slow but clear as glass showing where the Dolly Varden hide.

Rivers of salmon and steelhead going to the sea.

Before I met Rolf the only rivers I knew were the Allegheny and

Monongahela, the Ohio and Shenandoah,

Sluggish rivers, brown and old.

Rolf showed me wild rivers

With eagles and ancient spruce bottoms, king fishers and heron

And elk dipping their heads into the water.

Stillaguamish, Nooksack, Lyre and Hoh,

Skagit, Samish, Queets and Sauk

Rivers of legend, rivers of dreams.

May he always be there along them casting, casting until I come to him.

- Janet L. Oakley, Bellingham

For Connie, #39 & counting

An early summer afternoon,

Maybe Late Spring

That first glance

Across the way

Later a kiss

Awkward, yet exhilarating

Waiting and wondering

Which led to more

Times together, most apart

Calls and Letters

Visits, when possible

Engagement, marriage,

Jobs, kids,

Vacations, transitions,

Traditions, gatherings

Sustenance and surprises

Moments of understanding

And some with a lack thereof

Crises survived and joys shared

Cancer whispered a possible

Too soon end

But that is now old news

Grandkids, proof of passing

Time and certain future

Hard goodbyes with a finality

That hollows the soul

A few decades and a few more

And still those moments

And those smiles

And trust beyond words

And still more

- Jim Schmotzer, Bellingham

Sweethearts

We are just sweethearts

We love the succulent sweetness on our sticky lips

We love to soften our spicy cinnamon hearts

We love to give each other gummy bear hugs

We love to slather each other with luscious lollipop licks

We love to lace up in ravishing red licorice strings

We love to roll around on the floor in Snickers

We love to smother each other with multi-colored Kisses

We love to share the heart-shaped box of chocolates

We love to massage with our slippery Butterfingers

We love to fly like two Doves into Venus

We love to soar as high as the Milky Way

We love to dance like two peppermints in a twist

We love to jump around like jubilant jellybeans

We love to peep, and then fall to pieces

We love to lie down on fluffy marshmallow pillows

We love to think we are Hot Tamales

We love to stick together, and if separated, we crumble like Brittle and Bits

We are just sweethearts

The sweethearts in our box only say, "All mine, all mine, and all mine!"

- Adele Lloyd, Bellingham

Cardiac Arrest

I surely had a heart 'ere this ...

That beat, that felt, that drove my blood

But now, I'd swear that it had stood

Stock-still, until I felt your kiss

Unused, all silent and alone

It took its rhythm from your own.

I surely had a soul 'ere now

That danced to music barely heard

Yet, crippled as a one-winged bird

It took your soul to mine endow

With love, with laughter and with song

To last for both our lifetimes long.

I surely had a spirit here

That held together heart and soul

But it took you to make me whole ...

To give me hope, destroy my fear -

To love me, need me, set me free

... thus giving my life back to me.

- Nevada S. Huaute, Bellingham

"~a year of living~"

for Julie

your eyes

your lips

i dream of every night

your voice in my head

your breath on my back

your warmth beneath my hand

your life next to mine

a year of being beside you

a year of meals and sighs

a year of light and warmth

a year of love and desire

more to come

surely

more to share

certainly

more to care

my dear

as the years build

upon

around

within

our selves

tonight i will lay my head

next to you

hold your hand

fingers entwined with yours

listen to your body

calm itself to sleep

and dream of us

without end

- Miguel Ramos, Bellingham

Dining Together

You sir, have met your match

So lets light a fire

and we'll cook up this life

with a side of hot sauce.

Life tasted so bland when I was dining alone

I knew I was missing an ingredient

So I experimented with seasonings

But now I know

I am sugar

You are spice:

The perfect infusion of naughty

and nice

Life will never taste the same again

Who knew the recipe for happiness was so simple?

- Supanika Ordonez Ackerman, Bellingham

This Season

for L

Low air still,

trees unmoving,

high above

clouds dart north.

All that's left of snow:

a single rooftop scoop

a shaded foot-tracked wedge

a crumpled rag of white beneath a bush.

Earnest cold of true winter

raises her fairie skirts

to warm her ankles as

the sun begins its long return

toward luxurious days.

Awakening in the dark

lingering on the exquisite brink of light

held at the precipice

I fall

over and over

into the warm season of your eyes

your heart

your laugh.

- J.I. Kleinberg, Bellingham

Matterhorn

She is my Matterhorn,

opening the sky.

The rivers of her body

course with love-shrimp

and pink eels that prickle.

Shakespeare would have written

of her, but never say, "and thou,

fresh piece of excellent witchcraft."

No. What she lightly touches

becomes haloed - of this I am sure,

because when I sit beside her

to read, we have no need

of illumination.

- James Bertolino, Whatcom County

Constructed to Code

You and I -

Strong walls, good roof ...

by years and weather battered,

but standing.

Holding

against fickle wind -

Supporting, bracing

against dividing ice -

Open, reaching

for remembered sun.

More home than house ...

By and between

You and I -

Strong walls, good roof.

Who needs shelter, bides

Who hungers, feeds ...

Who aches, heals

Who seeks comfort, finds -

More home than house. ...

Our children, and their children after

Will be shielded, guarded

against fickle wind

Will be protected

from dividing ice

Will be nourished

by remembered sun ...

Will come home to the arms of

You and I ...

strong walls, good roof ...

- Nevada S. Huaute, Bellingham

The Beginning Place

In the beginning place

we will do what we have come to do

If you belong there you know

So you are, so I am, so then

the answer to every question is now

Unnerved and awkward

with this energy, I will not go

through this gate until you take

my hand and walk beside me into

a new world where, in silence,

in the space between thoughts,

the most can be spoken

Without words, the craving song be sung

So singing, taking, keeping nothing

— save the willingness to love -

we come to the beginning place

- Koelle Bodhi, Bellingham

Ode to Us

Valentine's Day 2012

There are times

when our relationship

is defined by rain

and can be difficult

The clouds roll in

and often feel like

they'll never leave

I can't really get away

so I accept it

hope that it'll help me grow

and learn more about us

I remember Spring,

a mottled pallet

of tulips and daffodils

We can survive the bleak times

many do, I think pensively

strolling life's boardwalk

We're no different.

all couples have sunshine

but also clouds

Then, when I almost

give in to depression

a farmer's market of life

and abundance occurs

We experience the dream

that seemed so far away

as clouds took their toll

What grace, to walk

along the water of possibility

as my inner artist screams

We can shine

if we just try

I know that I

can be impatient

and overlook you

Then I remind myself

of the few traffic jams

in our lives

as I try to subdue

my excitement at possibilities

Things are pretty easy

I realize, and suddenly see

that world class acts

can be seen in the theatre

of our coupledom

I ski, kayak and run

all on the same day

While I consider all that we've learned

in the colleges of life

Walk down our many forested trails

and look to the vibrant garden

we have created

Until finally I say,

"Bellingham, I love you!"

- Harvey Schwartz, Bellingham

Thought Sky Things

if i told you

purple, pointed horizon

that late summer

peel of sky

licked and sealed

away for to

draw upon on

a day like today.

if i told you

i thought sky things

kept each breath

i took near you

pressed it in

myelin sheath

saved because it

was my only way

of keeping a

little piece

of you

for me.

one day will be my last

my tired machine will just

give me all away

and I'll fade

into my own

kind of heaven

and i won't even

have the strength

to say good-bye.

so i want you to remember

each kiss is a kiss good-bye

and into your eyes

you carried me

somewhere,

closer to dying.

- James Grekul, Bellingham

Visual reality

I see your mauve lips and wonder

what would it be like to kiss them.

I raise my eyes meeting yours and

I know you have something better.

Why kiss with our lips

when we can embrace

each other's spiritual essence

though the intense lingering look

into our souls' eyes?

The apertures of our blue eyes open

letting the energetic essence of self

to climb inside one another's eye windows.

A kiss I feel its touch upon my lips,

but our visual embrace

I feel it from the depths of Self

to the iridescent sparklings of my aura.

I feel like I'm naked in your gaze.

Not in the sense of being undressed,

but as being exposed,

as if all pretenses and masks have

crumbled to dust and fallen away.

I silently savour the sublime sense of spiritual sensuality.

Your intense radiance warms me from the inside.

My love blossoms in the warmth of your radiant glow.

We are two physically separate beings,

but our sight touches each other's ultimate reality.

These moments of visual union

are deeper, more satisfying

than any tactile transmission of physical passion.

We experience the embrace of our eternal essence

- our True Selves, truly loving.

- Beth Fairchild, Everson

The Circle

You and I, looking for forever

Finding only pale reflections

Miles between us couldn't sever

Lifetimes full of re-connections -

Finally breaking through the seals,

... yes, this is how forever feels.

Time spent finding missing pieces

Making up for what's been lost

Fear of "blown potential" ceases

No more tallying the cost ...

Thus we can at last believe

There's nothing we two can't achieve.

But even beyond achievements wonder

Passion's flame eternal burns ...

Hearts and bodies' endless thunder

Echoes that for which soul yearns ...

For lifetimes in an endless line,

I have been yours, you shall be mine ...

- Nevada S. Huaute, Bellingham

Valentine's Sunshine

Let the world know that

The sunshine does shine

Valentine, oh valentine, how

I love the sunshine. Wherever

You go, let the sun shine through

Let the birds sing their song

Listen to your heart; let

Everyone know you are beautiful

This is your valentine to be

Loved by your heart for the

Sun will always shine on you.

Happy Valentine's Day

- JoAnne Roose, Bellingham

Amaranth

I do not love you

For the trove of pearls

That glisten in the refreshing pool of your mouth;

The same mouth that has bathed me

With kisses from your damp lips

Like a lush oasis on the desert of my body ...

I do not love you for this.

I do not love you

As I would love the beautiful gardens of Eden,

Where paradise abounds with purity and innocence -

The same innocence I find in your garden;

Your gardens are festooned and bedecked

With the mythical Amaranth, a flower whose beauty never dies ...

I do not love you for this.

I do not love you

As I would love a chalice of wine,

A wine that numbs my pain and makes the sorrow disappear ...

The same intoxicating affect that you have

When I drink in your presence ... I do not love you for this.

I love you,

Because your smile will never fade from my memories.

Though it sparkle from the deepest sea on the blackest night,

It would find me in the most distant land ...

It would impregnate me from the deluge of your tender kisses;

I willingly immerse myself into the depth of your passion,

Which encircles this earth, too small to contain your mighty love.

For this I love you, and so much more ...

I love you

Because your intense purity pierces my heart thru and thru ...

Until it weeps with awe at the amazing splendor of your innocence,

As with the Amaranth, your beauty is everlasting

Because it is the nucleus of who you are ...

Your heart, your delicate love is unbreakable because of its purity -

For this I love you, and so much more ...

I love you

Because my chalice is never empty with you ...

Your wine does not make me stumble or blur my vision.

Your love, the eternal inebriation,

Pacifies and mitigates my every woe and sorrow

Each time I sip from the nectar of your love.

For this I love you, and so much more ...

- Robert W. Dickinson, Sudden Valley

A Valentine's Wish

May our friendship grow as the months go by

May we all become more understanding on each other

May our days be filled with fun and laughter

May we each receive those things our hearts most desire

May our lives be filled with love with each passing day

May our guardian angels watch over us

May we be thankful for our many blessings

For this is our moment in time

- JoAnne Roose, Bellingham

Valentine's Day

Today's the day of hearts and flowers

What if there are a few snow showers?

Today we forget the war and strife

And celebrate our love and life

So give your Valentine a hug

It will give your heart a tug

And whisper gently if you dare

How precious is the love you share.

- Rita Hill, Bellingham

A Valentine

My Valentine has gone away

Though I think of him most every day

We loved one another for 54 years

Through days of joy and times of tears.

Where is he now I often wonder.

What's after death I sit and ponder

Maybe all that exists is what's gone before

Though in our hearts we long for more.

There are no marriages I heaven St. Paul has said

But maybe we can have an eternal spirit of St. Valentine instead

If there's really a heaven there must be love

It's our native gift from our Father above.

- Rita Hill, Bellingham

Hi, Wayne

"Hi, Wayne,

My name is Jesus,

I've come to take you home,

Put your hand in mine, my friend,

You'll never walk alone."

God needed another star in heaven,

Soft moonbeams and sunshine, too.

He looked into your smiling face,

And that's when He chose you.

Wayne rose from his chair, unassisted,

No oxygen, no walker, no cane,

He extended his hand to his Master,

When our Savior called his name.

He turned to his wife, his family and friends,

And whispered a final farewell,

I'll be waiting for you in Heaven above,

The place where the Angels dwell.

The day we were married,

We asked for five years,

God has granted us more than ten.

"Cherish those precious memories, Sweetheart,

Until we meet again."

- Trudy Peters-Zwink, 91, Lynden. Her husband, Wayne, died Jan. 13, 2012, at the age of 94.

Abundantly

Love sweet love, such a warm flame -

you call to my heart, you called and I came ...

For I am your child, we share the same soul -

because you are "Agapy," I am made whole!

Your siren song of riches - filling my heart,

I praise The Creator, for making me part.

Long suffering; "Oh Yes" I've paid that price,

'Cause all things in life are not meant to be nice!

Evil has cursed me, demons have called,

and love is the flame that conquered them all.

Lying in wonder of magick it's true! Is

love not the spirit ... that makes my life new?

So here is the day, St. Valentine's again

I offer you love, please let her in.

She is a Mother and a sweet life she'll give.

Take Her my friend - "Abundantly Live" ....

- R.A. Pullar, Bellingham

Just Saying

You're always on my mind

You are one of a kind

With your beauty and smile

That makes me want to go that extra mile

You bring me happiness and joy every day

My heart belongs to you in every way

What more can I say

I love you, Joedy

- Joedy Thomas, Bellingham

Poem for Valentine's Day

Love your neighbor as yourself

the good book tells us to.

We would have fewer divorces and murders too.

So as we think on love on this special day,

so let us do our very best to communicate it too.

To let our friends and family know just how we feel,

because it's so important, our loving thoughts to reveal.

So many thoughts go unspoken, and many people never know

how much love we have for them until we tell them so.

Let us all be up and sharing

in our actions and our words

and it would make the world a better place

than we would ever know.

- Lena Brink, Lynden