Who needs Cupid and his silly little bow?

Seriously, this stupid little winged god

who zooms around firing a random arrow

at an aspiring young lover seems very odd.

Dangerous, even.  Risky.  Who knows what

unwitting mischief might be wrought

if the wrong target is accidentally shot?

This cherub’s delusions of grandeur must be fought.

Greedy retailers who, every year, make a mint

by exploiting a poor hopeful suitor’s thorny nest

of tangled feelings, should earn their living by dint

of hard work instead, and let that be their quest

instead of tempting a vulnerable lonely heart

to waste money on things he does not require,

spurred on by dreams of Cupid’s insipid little dart

magically curing his solitary, sheeplike, unsated desire.

No manipulative cherub, no matter how celebrated,

can tempt a beautiful maiden to lose her mind

over an unworthy prospect.  She is feted

by many, and is naturally drawn to her own kind,

not some poor callow lad with aspirations

far beyond his station.  Cupid must be stopped!

Let’s forget these syrupy shallow Valentine celebrations

and find different, worthier causes to adopt.