Happy Valentine's Day

Ever so embellished,

and so decorated

with hearts and red roses.

It thrills and

it thralls;

at times hard gotten,

and so often

ill begotten.

Yet who can resist it?

Not even the mighty Zeus

could manage to repulse it.

Compelling to the point

that it'd launch a thousand ships.

History pays tribute to it,

with Taj's, tombs, and minarets.

Art stands in servitude

with a Picasso or a John Donne.

Song and rhythm play to it 

be it with a ghazal or a Sufi tune.

Alas, intangible it is

and impossible to define.

Sure enough you'll feel it,

as it drives

or it drowns.

In the strangest of dwellings,

it'll ebb, it'll flow,

and unknowingly it'll grow.

Can't clock it, or time it,

so just feel and enjoy it.

Does it end, or does it change?

Hard to say.

for none's ever bereft of it

to make a guess or say.

Happy Valentine!