Valentine

I know
there should be a heart and an arrow
and a card and some candy--
flowers too, if that would help
convey what I feel.

I know
that most of the time, I am
cranky and impatient
and bossy and annoyed, and
let's not forget 'unreasonable'.

I know
that I am hard to love
at the best of times
and at the worst....well,
let's not go there.

And yet, I know
you have loved me,
made me laugh,
been by my side,
for all these years--

What else can a valentine be,
if not patient, if not kind,
if not faithful, and hopeful,
and enduring, and all the things
you are already?

You have always been the best of me,
my foundation, my comfort,
my home, my heart,
my Valentine.