Valentine’s Day is a time for flowers, poems, and in my case a Limoges Box gift. As my wife and I celebrate our twenty-second, it’s time to look forward to our upcoming Florida retirement life. She was so excited to have palm trees in her new yard that I found a porcelain rendering of a hammock stretched between two palms to commemorate the occasion. My tradition is to insert a special poem inside the hinged box for presentation. 

Backyard Dreams

There are Palm Trees,
On our Venice lot.
Providing shade,
When it is hot.

A hammock swing,
Might be right.
For lazy days,
Soon in sight.

Our Florida home,
Is nearly done.
Where we’ll enjoy,
The setting sun.

A gentle sway,
Will aid your nap.
While hiding under,
A baseball cap.

But unlike being,
Safe in bed.
Keep a lookout,
Watch your head.

While you relax,
And search the sky.
A coconut bomb,
Just might fly.

And down below,
The gators crawl.
So hang on tight,
Don’t slip and fall.

Plus, don’t go out,
In a hurricane.
That might prove,
To be insane.

The pool’s inside,
No worries there.
Enjoy the water,
Without a care.

Backyard dreams,
My Valentine.
I’m sure glad,
That you are mine.

Twenty-two years,
Of being in love.
But the first you’ll own,
Palm Trees above.

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