 The speaker offers her lover an onion as an unusual Valentine’s gift. She rejects giving conventional presents, which she seems to consider clichéd and unable to capture the complexity of love. The speaker uses the onion as an extended metaphor to illustrate both the positive and negative aspects of love.

 The title suggests that this will be a conventional love poem. “Valentine” has connotations of red roses, cards, chocolates, teddies, etc. However, the speaker rejects these stereotypical gifts from the poem’s outset: “Not a red rose or a satin heart”. She chooses an onion because she thinks it more accurately represents love than conventional symbols, and she is “trying to be truthful”.

 “I give you an onion” – the extraordinary nature of the gift is contrasted with the ordinariness of the declaration.  “you” – the use of the second person “you” creates the impression that the reader is the speaker’s lover. This creates a sense of intimacy, which is obviously appropriate given the poem’s theme.  “It is a moon” – metaphor, inspired by the shape and colour of the inner layer of an onion. A very romantic image – moonlight has clear connotations of romance.  “wrapped in brown paper” – the extraordinarily romantic imagery of the moon is contrasted with the very ordinary image of brown paper.  This could suggest the varied nature of love – it can be celestial and out of this world or commonplace and banal. It could also suggest that love, like the onion, is layered, and, like the onion, one needs to “unpeel” the superficial outer layers to reach the more substantial core.  Colour symbolism – light (moon) v dark (brown paper) – possibly suggesting that love can be a positive (light) and negative emotion/experience (dark)

 “Promises light” – metaphor; love, like the onion, promises light. The onion promises light in terms of the colour of its interior, while love promises light in the sense that it has the potential to bring us joy and happiness. Notice, however, that it “promises” – it doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness.  The suggestion that one must be “careful” serves a cautionary note. The speaker seems to be suggesting that love is a fragile emotion, which may wither and die if one fails to look after it properly.  “Undressing” – pun – equating love with the onion. “Undressing” refers to both the disrobing of a lover and the removal of the onion’s outer skin.

 “Here” – imperative or command sentence. The one word sentence helps to convey the abruptness of the order. Perhaps this implies the speaker aims to exert some control over their lover.  “It will blind you with tears like a lover” – simile – Just as a lover can elicit tears by cruelty, infidelity, insensitivity, the onion can also make one cry.  “blind” – violent and hyperbolic word choice, suggesting that love can be a devastating and destructive emotion. It also suggests that love can have a negative impact on one’s perceptions, as “blind” indicates an inability to see.

 “It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief” – metaphor  “wobbling” – suggests unsteadiness. This could imply that love has a destabilising and disorientating effect on people and leaves them vulnerable.  “grief” – suggests a deep mental anguish, usually caused by bereavement. This suggests that love can cause as much as pain and suffering as death.

 “I am trying to be truthful”  Reveals the rationale for the speaker’s decision to use the onion as a symbol for love.  It could be the speaker’s attempt to legitimise the darker aspects of love outlined in stanza 3.  “trying” – are they succeeding?

 “Not a cute card or a kissogram” – Very similar to the first sentence, which reaffirms the speaker’s rejection of conventional symbols of love. The childlike alliteration of this line might suggest that the speaker thinks that conventional gifts are immature and unsophisticated.

 “I give you an onion” – repetition of opening line of the second stanza; possibly reflecting the speaker’s forceful and overbearing nature.  “It’s fierce kiss will stay on your lips” – metaphor  “fierce kiss” – oxymoron/contrast – fierce suggests violence, whereas kiss suggests a tender physical expression of love.

 “stay” – suggests it will remain, endure and persist. Odd word choice, as a kiss would normally be considered a momentary gesture, which only lasts as long as the lips are joined. However, this kiss lingers, like the unpleasant taste of an onion, on the lips. Again, this could imply the domineering personality of the speaker.  “possessive and faithful” – here a negative and positive aspect of love are contrasted.  “Possessive” suggests clingy, overprotective, dominating and jealously controlling.  “Faithful” – suggests steadfast in allegiance or affection, loyal and devoted.

 “for as long as we are” – suggests that the relationship may break down in the future. This is unusual as conventional Valentine’s cards pledge undying love and affection. Perhaps this is another example of the speaker “trying to be truthful”.

 “Take it” – another imperative/command sentence, which recalls “Here” in stanza 3. The speaker’s order could imply that they are trying to dominate their lover.  “Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring” – metaphor. To “shrink” is to make smaller. Perhaps the implication here is that marriage diminishes one’s freedom and independence.  “if you like” – suggests that the speaker is unsure whether their lover will be receptive to their proposal, which casts doubt on the long- term viability of the relationship.

 “Lethal” – causes death. This could be literal – a jealously possessive person may kill their partner to prevent them leaving. Alternatively, this death may be figurative, suggesting how harmful and destructive a relationship can be. The pain experienced can be akin to that of a bereavement. Conversely, “lethal” could represent the death of individualism as a consequence of marriage.  “scent” - the scent of an onion is pungent and overpowering. The speaker here appears to be domineering.

 Repetition of “cling” – recalls the earlier reference to “possessive”. The speaker wants to hold on tightly to their lover, perhaps in a stifling or overbearing manner, as suggested by the repetition of the term.  “knife” – clear connotations of danger, brutality and death. Relationships can be cutting and scar, like a knife. Also, the speaker might be implying that just as a knife can cut through an onion, their honest assessment of love can cut through our preconceptions about love.

 Complexity of love  Pain and pleasure of love  Rejection of conventional symbols of love.  Layers of love  Romance  Violence  Control & domination  Honesty & dishonesty

 Free verse – conventional form of the love poem, the sonnet, is rejected. In addition to rejecting conventional symbols of love, the speaker rejects the conventional verse form associated with the emotion.  First person speaker addressing a second person “you”.  Free verse – the speaker is liberated from normal Valentine conventions.  Verse form, like love, is upredictable.  Verse, like love, does not take one particular form.  Short stanzas – segmented, like the onion.  Repetitive – reflecting the structure of an onion.

 The central image of the onion – extended metaphor  “It is a moon wrapped in brown paper” – metaphor  “Fierce kiss” – metaphor  “It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief” –metaphor  “Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring” – metaphor  “It will blind you with tears like a lover” – simile

 “It is a moon”  “light”  “truthful”  “faithful”  “wedding-ring”

 “brown paper”  “careful”  “blind”  “tears”  “wobbling”  “grief”  “fierce kiss”  “possessive”  “shrink”  “Lethal”  “cling”  “knife”