gas station rose

last night i stopped after work at the safeway to buy various vittles & sundries such is my ordinary daily habits i totally forgot the upcoming holiday i mean i know valentine's day is today but going on automatic pilot didn't prepare me for the vision of oodles of young & youngish men hoovering up roses in their singles & bouquets & heart-shaped boxes of chocolates & cheap champagne & pre-printed cards i felt like a biologist in the field observing the mating rituals of greater apes

not that i abhor or eschew romance & l'amour & their attendant rituals & yet something in me saw within these dudes a bit of hope because i mean all these guys were thinking of their partners not in the abstract but as very real persons

that love is in the air is a cause for celebration even if the rose was purchased in a gas station you know the kind a single rose &/or a small bouquet wrapped in plastic set on the check out counter beside the gum lottery tickets & swisher sweets you might have bought one for your honey or you might have been the recipient of one of these roses from your beloved

what thing more might symbolize the tenacious demands of the lover but a rose bought on the cheaper end of a retailer but the rose that tells the lover you are loved you are desired you are valued 

i went about my business & bought my things at safeway as these young & youngish lovers gathered the artifacts of their love for this special day i suspect their partners were probably doing the same at another store for love as you know is always in the air