Poetry - Valentine

• “Not a red rose or a satin heart”


  One line stanza - creates abrupt unexpected start

  Starts with a negative - the poem will describe what the poet considers an appropriate gift

  Traditional valentines gift
• “I give you an onion”


  Direct address

  Unconventional, simple, yet mysterious unusual gift
• “It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.”


  Metaphor - mimics the white sphere of the onion covered in skin (takes an ordinary item and makes it special/remarkable)
• “It promises light like the careful undressing of love”


  Mimics the hope and excitement of love

  The white onion being peeled creates a warm inviting image

  Simile - the peeling of the onion could represent the layers of people but also the physical act of love
• “Here.”

  New stanza

  Minor sentence - direct command to the reader
• “It will blind you with tears like a lover”


  The literal onion creates tears when cut into

  Enjambment emphasises the idea that love is painful/full of grief

  Love often ends in heartbreak

  Love can be blinding and intense, making you oblivious to faults

  Anger can be overtaking
• “It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief”


  The relationship is perhaps changing how the narrator sees themselves

  Tears obscure vision - things appear blurred

  Love can bring heartbreak

  Ends in grief and can cause insecurities to become a ‘reason’ it ended
• “I am trying to be truthful“


  One line stanza - emphasises this simple insight

  Narrator wants to be honest about love
• “Not a cute card or a kissogram”


  Repeats the idea from line one, not a typical/conventional valentine

  One line stanza
• “I give you an onion”


  Repetition of simple line
• “It’s fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful as we are, for as long as we are”


  Idea and tone beginning to change

  Lingering pungent scent of the onion is compared to a kiss

  Romantic and soft image compared to violent, possessive image - contrasting idea

  Enjambment emphasises ‘possessive’ - a kiss can be gentle but it can also be a sign of possession

  Suggest that trust/loyalty may be temporary - there is an unhealthy bond between the narrator and the person they’re speaking to

  Feeling of control
• “Take it.”

  Command - threatening tone for the concluding stanza

  Feeling of control
• “It’s platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring, if you like.”


  The rings of an onion resemble a wedding ring - stuck in the relationship

  Constricting - the relationship is ‘suffocating’

  Contrasting to the command
• “Lethal.”


  One word line, fatal, signifies death

  Kill someone through love, metaphorically and literally
• “Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.”


  The smell of the onion can’t be easily removed from hands or a knife - it lingers/remains

  Represents the mental drainage/scars that can be left after a relationship

  Physical damage (bodily harm)

  Final line of the poem presents the possibility of physical violence

  Disturbing tone