I am not much of a romantic. I believe love is to do with things other than red roses and all that commercial stuff, like having a cup of tea brought to my bedside every day, or someone giving me a hug or an unexpected bunch of flowers, a piece of chocolate shared or a thoughtful email froma friend. I have been married to the same wonderful person for 34 and a half years today. This poem is for him.
Marriage Tea
Tea is a hug in a china mug
hot and strong, without sugar
and only the merest whisper of milk.
First thing in the morning
it is the kiss for sleeping beauty
brought to the bedside as the sky warms up.
It can be dressed in finer clothes
but the everyday chipped mug,
after all these years, is enough for me.
Angela Topping 
Lovely sentiment, lovely poem. My wife and I have never swapped Valentine’s cards precisely because of the commercialisation factor. That doesn’t mean we don’t feel loved; far from it. The ‘everyday chipped mug’ does it for us too. And our Ruby Wedding in July will be a very happy occasion.
I remember, though, as a pubescent schoolboy, how envious I was of classmates boasting about their score of Valentine’s cards. How would it feel to receive one, I wondered. Perhaps I should send one to myself? Of course I realised the cheat would fail.
Half a century later, on Valentine’s Day, I still find myself wondering, how would it feel..?
Then my grandchildren burst in, their laughter the perfect antidote.
See you tomorrow night at The Red Lion, Angela.
Regards, Paul
Thanks Paul. Looking forward to seeing you!
I didn’t know boys felt the same pressure to get cards. I never got any either, apart from my mum – who couldn’t disguise her handwriting. Me and my beloved do cards but that is all – and it is our half year wedding anniversary as we were wed on 14 August all those years ago.
Reblogged this on Angela Topping and commented:
I couldn’t say it any better now: love is in the little quotidian things.
The final stanza of your poem says it all, Angela.
My hubby of 32 years (and, currently, tireless gopher for a post-op wife and two spoilt cats) wrote a poem inside my card, entitled ‘Hip Op Love.’ It made me laugh and cry in equal measure.
That is a really lovely story! Thank you for sharing it.
Well said, and great poem!