The Bleak Heart of February

Why do you commemorate something?
Because you don't have it any more
You want to hold the memory
You want to keep the core.

The Bleak Heart of February
Thus bereft of love
Has become the month of lovers
Of Cupid and the dove.

You see the trappings everywhere
Of something that doesn't exist
Heart-balloons fly away or burst
Ribbons get into a twist.

Phone networks get jammed
With copy-pasted stuff
Any real substance there?
Or is it all just fluff?

The smiles are broad, the laughter loud
The dancing fast and furious
But it's all 'me' and 'I'
Very rarely is it 'us'.

The Bleak Heart of February
Sees only what can be earned
Only dollars, not sense
Not a lesson learned.

It's all about money
Buy bouquets! Buy teddy bears!
Buy jewels! Buy villas
Buy your extra-marital affairs.

As long as there are things in shops
And money in your wallet
You can keep the bleak heart beating
Coz it's about what we get.

We've forgotten what's at the core
The sweetness and loyalty
We've forgotten the joy, the trust
The innocence and the empathy

So we need a day, a month
To remind ourselves of these
But the bleak heart only beats to money
Not to the whisper of the breeze.