Tag: valentines day
Jagged Love
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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by Connor Zimmerman ’20
Is it bad that I can feel the echoes of your sorrow coming off of you, as I glide over the scars on your arm? Is it bad that I can touch your distress as my fingers run through your hair? Is it bad that I can sense your anguish pulsing through your heart as our bodies become closer? Is it bad that I taste your regret as our lips slowly meet?
You are beautiful not in spite of all this…but
You have been cut, broken, and hurt…just like I have. You have a past that makes you want to scream and run…just like I want to do. You wear your feelings, the good, bad, and everything in between…just like I do. Your edges are jagged and rough…just like mine are.
You are beautiful not in spite of all this…but because
One of your exes fell in love with another girl, and even though he was honest he split your heart into two. Another once made you feel like you were less than you truly are, and while it eventually ended, your heart broke into four pieces. The next one said that you didn’t have any love left to give, and his words smashed the pieces of your heart into eight fragments.
You are beautiful not in spite of all this…but because of
Even with everything that you have been through, you still see past my flaws. You have taught me to feel again when I did not know if that was possible. You make me smile and laugh even when I believe the world is going to end. You listen to the songs, watch the movies, and read the books I like because you want to know more about me. You still have love to give, more than anyone I know.
You are beautiful not in spite of all this but because of it.
The Last Two
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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by Jay Willett ’20
“Cheers,” she raised her wine glass, “to being single on this lovely Valentine’s Day!” We clinked and took our first sips of the red wine I bought for seven bucks at Shaw’s. She wrinkled her nose and gasped.
“That’s bitter!”
“Wine can’t be bitter.” I grinned.
“Well, it is!”
I nodded my head as I drank, catching her doubtful glance that I was enjoying the beverage. It’s true I was bluffing, and after a couple more, I couldn’t stop myself.
“ACK!” I coughed into my sleeve. She folded her arms in self-proclaimed victory. Laughter echoed from upstairs. Noise of the city filtered through cracks in the drywall. It was muzzled but audible to hear the couples dancing and kissing in the streets. She tugged at the front strands of her hair. I stamped the heel of my foot on the felt carpet. There was no avoiding it; the aroma of love had breached our walls of singularity. Our safe space for honest discussion and unrelenting cynicism had been invaded by the enamored. They took the stage while we fell silent.
“It’s not fair, you know,” she whispered.
“What?”
“I don’t know.” She fiddled with her necklace. “Like, that we are here, and people expect us to be sad and lonely tonight.”
“Hm,” was all I could respond with.
“…But I’m not—I’m here, drinking with you. And I’m happy!”
“Right.”
“I am—I’m—” Tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. I raised my glass.
“Hey—cheers.” We clinked for a second time. She laughed as I spat out my wine.
Falling Without Gravity
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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by Clara Howard ’20
“Hellooo, earth to Marina?”
Marina blinked, the fog of memories and laughter lifting at the voice of the attending on-call and the surrounding sounds of the hospital. “What?”
Dr. Li frowned at her. “Are you okay? That’s the third time you’ve spaced out on me this shift.”
Marina shook her head and shoulders, the way a bird might settle its wings after a long flight. “Sorry, I’m fine. Just have a lot on my mind today.”
“Did you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” she replied, smiling a little tightly. “Well, not right now, at any rate.”
Dr. Li nodded and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the counter of the nurses’ station. The new position brought his face closer to where Marina’s head was bent over a pile of charts she was supposed to be reviewing. “So, what do you want to talk about, then?” He asked, his voice quieter.
Marina rolled her eyes, a small smile playing with the edges of her mouth. “I don’t really have anything that I want to talk about right now,” she responded, her voice just as low.
“Really, absolutely nothing?”
“Not that I can think of.”
“No special plans for the weekend?”
She shrugged, the smile growing wider with the exchange. “Not really.” She glanced up at him then, struggling not to laugh at the way his eyes sparked with mock outrage.
His eyes widened as he gaped at her. “You wound me, Marina Blair,” he whispered, the mirth in his eyes belying his words.
Marina did a subtle sweep of the space around them before leaning in closer to Dr. Li, making as if she were about to divulge a secret. “Good thing you’re a doctor, then, and can patch yourself up,” she whispered back.
He burst out laughing, clapping a hand over his mouth as his shoulders shook. Marina sat back, her grin turning smug as she watched him. He shook his head and matched her gaze. “So little sympathy for the injured, Nurse Blair?”
“Only when the injured is you, Dr. Li,” she quipped, even daring to shoot him a wink.
“Sounds like someone needs to help you work on those bedside manners.”
“Oh really?” Her dimples came out in full force and she leaned forward again. “And I suppose you’re offering to be that someone?”
His deep brown eyes seemed to smolder with heated promises as he looked at her. “I suppose that I am.”
Her smile turned slow, curling at the corners like a cat in front of a fire. “Then I suppose—”
“Marina, have you seen the chart for the patient in room 207?” Nurse Jenkins interrupted, her nose buried in a bunch of files as she turned the corner and walked up to the nurses’ station. She looked up to see Dr. Li straightening the pile of charts in front of him and Marina searching for a pen. She decided not to comment on the blushes staining their cheeks.
14 Ways to Say I Love You
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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by Jessica Polanco ’21
I love you.
I hate you.
I want to hear your voice.
Shut up.
Hug me.
Don’t touch me.
Come over.
Stay away.
Kiss me.
Don’t kiss me.
We make a good team.
I’m better without you.
I miss you.
Leave me alone.
Love Limericks
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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Short and Sweet
by Sarah Heavren ’21
Master of the cleverest pun,
You make all the boring things fun.
I hope you know
And that I show
You’re loved by a certain someone.
Staycation
by Samantha Pellman ’20
What do I get him for Valentine’s Day?
Plan something special, they all say
So I booked a vacation
At the very best location
A ticket to Greece and it’s a one-way!
Glacier
by Jay Willett ’20
Frost gales frolic, shrouding all we could see.
Eyjafjallajökull explodes on the bended knee.
Not with fire, but with hope,
alone together on our slope.
One proposition, one question, and I’m finally free.
Money Can’t Buy Love
by Sarah McLaughlin ’23
There once was a broke college student
Who thought it would be rather prudent
To skip buying flowers
And instead work twelve hours
Which prompted his love life’s conclusion.
Dead Languages Don’t Get You Dates
by Sean Tobin ’20
I once tried to flirt in Italian.
By nature I’m no Latin stallion.
I learned Greek with ease,
Ancient Hebrew’s a breeze,
But for romance they get no medallion.
Fast Fiction: Dream First Date
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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In six words or less write a story about your dream first date… Go!
Only us drowned in candlelight.
by Grace O’Connor ’22
A good laugh…all I need.
by Erin Venuti ’20
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and…
by Connor Zimmerman ’20
They laugh together, and she’s happy.
Clara Howard ’20
Stole my heart, then my wallet.
by Kate Ward ’23
Ends with plans for a second.
by Sarah McLaughlin ’23
A Real Galentine’s Day
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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by Samantha Pellman ’20
It’s a Friday night at 6 p.m.
The sky is dark already
The air is cold.
To us it’s just a Friday night
But to others it’s the most romantic day of the year.
We don’t look at it that way.
We stand in front of the mirror
Curling our hair
And putting on mascara.
Laughing together
And sipping wine
Tonight will be one for the books.
It’s a night to celebrate our freedom
We’re only young for so long
We’ll be wishing to be at this stage in life again.
We’re leaving our phones home tonight
We don’t need to get in contact with anyone
This night is for us.
I take candid pictures of my friends
So we can remember how happy we were
Just to have each other.
Valentine’s Day is wonderful
But for now, it’s me and my girls
We’re all we need tonight and always.
Below, a guide for writing a love poem to your sweetheart (or boogabear, snookems, or tootsie wootsie)
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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by Sam Ward ’21
To better understand love and its treasures,
You must first reexamine your loyalty to vices.
You are not ready to love unless you take the right measures.
Would you keep caffeine in the A.M. if Starbucks raised its prices?
Wag your finger to rom-coms, even Paul Rudd ones.
Love has no place for a man who makes silly puns.
Say no to chocolate in bed, sugar for breakfast.
To forgo these things is to keep your heart the freshest.
A rose is still a rose, if you detest it,
And a bed full of petals is no place to rest in.
Flowery poetry makes you look like a sap,
Now say, “Valentine’s Day is crap!”
Personal Space
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
Comics & Drawings
by Mark Fairchild ’20
Listomania: How to make someone fall in love with you
by Connor Zimmerman on February 14, 2020
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Stand outside their dorm room with a boombox
Leave them on open on Snapchat
DM their ex on Instagram
Take them out to Ray
Photoshop them into pictures with you
Bring them chicken nuggets on Thursday
Go to the chapel with them
Express your feelings in Morning Mail
Steal a golf cart and drive them to their classes
Hide under their bed
Give them all your Friarbucks
Tell Dot to tell them how you feel
Buy their Black and White Ball ticket (if $20 isn’t an act of love, I don’t know what is)
Wear clean clothes
Wear their clothes
Request their location on Find My Friends
Watch You for tips
Get them the flame from Slavin lawn instead of a candle