Onions in Love Poems

After reading the sixty or so poems listed as homework, I came to the conclusion that I did not really understand a single poem I had read. A few specific poems stuck out to me as the most unusual. I must say, however, Carol Ann Duffy’s poem which is titled “Valentine” is a poem I found to be not only confusing, but extremely frustrating as well. After having read the poem at least a dozen times- and still counting- in order to try to gain a better understanding of it I am disappointed to say that pretty much the only things I have come up with are a bad headache and utter confusion. I could not, to save my life, figure out the significance or importance of this poem. If I am to be completely honest, I thought this poem was written as a joke.

That was until at one point when, as I was almost finished reading the poem for the umpteenth time, I realized the answer had been in the title the whole time. This poem which caused me to rage quit reading it at least three times was a love poem. Sure it was a strange one at that (I mean, who gives their loved one an onion for Valentine’s day?), but it was a love poem nonetheless. As I read on with the new found knowledge of this poem, I began to understand why the author chose to give their significant other an onion as a Valentine’s day gift. When Duffy says that the onion’s “fierce kiss will stay on your lips” (14) and that “its scent will cling to your fingers” (22), I was reminded of just how strong the smell and taste of an onion is.

This reminded me of a meal side my family likes to make called pico de gallo (usually I am the one who gets to do this). Pico de gallo is what I assume a sort of salad made from chopped tomatoes, (usually) white onion, cilantro, and if you want it to be spicy, diced chilli peppers. To top it off and add more flavor, we add some lime and salt and mix it all together. All in all, it is very delicious side for your meals. Whenever I chop the tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, I like to leave the onion until the end. This is because, although chopping onions does not usually make me cry and I actually like the smell of  onion, the smell of onion is sometimes too strong. What I am trying to get to is that the poem is saying that the love the author and their significant other is like an onion. Their passion for each other lingers and clings to them like an onion’s taste sticks to your lips and its smell lingers on your fingers.

I must admit that after analyzing the poem and forcing myself to look past the fact that this poem was utterly ridiculous the first couple times I read it, I actually genuinely enjoyed this poem (even though I usually dislike love poems). I feel like normal love poems are totally overrated. It was nice to see a love poem that did not fit the standard sappy love theme. In way, I found this poem oddly romantic, much more than I would have thought.