A Bouquet of Valentine Roses

 

 

(For the National Coal Mining Museum)

 

With the museum closed for the moment

It might seem there’s no light in the mine,

When, into the gloom, steps Saint Valentine

With a bouquet of roses to be sent.

For whom? For where? The miners’ lamp maybe,

For its glimmer of hope. But then there is

The crystal-bright singing of the canaries;

Or, perhaps, coalmining community

Could be marked in Parkinson’s Yard. Come rain,

Shine or Covid, horse-keepers understood

The needs of Fynn, Eric, Ernie and Bud.

A bouquet for colleagues ‘til we meet again?

And the penny counters deserve a spray

Of roses on Caphouse Valentine’s Day.

 

                                                                                                            D. A.

 

This sonnet is composed from lines supplied by staff and volunteers of the National Coal Mining Museum.