Happy Birthday, Frankie!

Happy Birthday, Frankie! April 8, 2014

Frankie and me in Paris in 2001

Today is my wife Frankie’s birthday.

What follows is one of the many poems I wrote to her over the years. This one in particular was penned in the mid-1980s while we were dating. It is called “Elusive Valentine.”

Elusive Valentine

I’m finally relaxed
After two weeks of being here
And my time is never taxed
Whenever she is near
She doesn’t wear a monogram
She’s got an independent mind
She admires Billy Graham
She’s an elusive valentine

There’s something ’bout this city
That always brings me back
It’s that woman who’s so pretty
That she gives me a heart attack
She’d look lovely in Paris
Sipping a glass of French wine
‘neath a moonlit glowing terrace
Like an elusive valentine

My words, not frivolous
Their meaning leaves no doubt
Her symmetry is marvelous
Her spirituality, devout
She stands up for her faith
In the Man from Palestine
In gold, she’s worth her weight
She’s an elusive valentine

Standing still, lavender clad
Indeed, attractively stubborn
Her possibilities are myriad
By fools, she’ll not be governed
And yes, we’re a couple of mystics
Rationally inclined
She holds her own in linguistics
She’s an elusive valentine

–Francis J. Beckwith, 13 June 1986 (Las Vegas, Nevada)


Browse Our Archives