Tender Thoughts on Valentine’s Day

Poring over reels of microfilm at the New York Pubic Library occasionally reveals unexpected treasure. A case in point is the following bit of light verse from Don Marquis’s “Notes and Comment” column in The (New York) Evening Sun — a forerunner to his famous Sun Dial column — on Sept. 24, 1912. The verse is unsigned but the words are unmistakably Don’s. Proof of his authorship can be found in an earlier version of the poem that appeared in the Atlanta Journal on Jan. 28, 1904, in a newspaper column, Rings From the Shop Pipe, written by a young editorial writer on the staff, Don Marquis.

Fast-forward to 2019, and the verse seems appropriate somehow on Valentine’s Day. 

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P.S. Writing light verse based on newspaper stories was a favorite trick for Don. Check out “Don Tells the Story of ‘Moister Oysters,’ “ which features a similar bit of fun that first appeared in Notes and Comment on Sept. 23, 1912, one day before “In Spite of Germs.”
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