The ancient Roman’s honored, the Goddess of Women and marriage,
Juno was her name, and she rode in a ‘heavenly carriage’.
‘The Featival of Lupercalia’, was the name of this pagen spree,
And in 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius gave a decree.

“Hereafter and forevermore, on the Eve of this feast so merry,
I order that you celebrate, the 14th of February.
To honor a martyred priest, who lived many years before us,
He died in 264 A.D., his name was Valentius.”

As years went by, we next record, the year 14 hundred 15,
When love letters in verse were written, by Charles, the Duke of Orleans.
While he was separated from his wife, after the Battle of Agincourt,
He penned his love from his cell, and his thoughts escaped from the Fort.

In 15th Century England, girls put their names in a jar,
After drawing a name the young man, pinned the name to his sleeve - like a bar.
This would show to the world, the girl to whom he would say,
“Let me escort you my dear, to the feast on St. Valentine’s Day.”

According to those who search for these facts, they seem to all believe
That this custom gave us the expression, “He wears his heart on his sleeve.”
Valentines were genuine marriage proposals, in the ‘horse and buggy’ days,
Some even included wedding rings, with notes of love and praise.

A mitten was attached to the card. If milady wasn’t smitten,
The card was returned to the sender, this was known as ‘getting the mitten’
. Next. Swains tried their skill at this art, with pen and paste-pot for tools,
They used elegant boxes from Paris, and finished with fine lace spools.

The First Valentines were printed, behind the doors of a Stationer’s sign,
In the year 1847, Esther Howard drew her designs.
She sold thousands of her drawings, with writings for those we adore,
But she never found her true love, she died a spinster - in 1904.

rep .(not authenticated - put in verse from a story printed in the Quincy Herald-Whig, Feb 1977)