February 14 by C. J. Dennis

"Oh, will you be my valentine?
The sighing swain of 'eighty-nine,
   Hirsute and oiled, on bended knee
   Offers his queen idolatry.
She starts, she sighs, she hangs her head,
She droops her eyes and blushes red,
   Her heart beats high, her nerve is gone:
   "Oh, Cedric how you do go on!"

"Hey, touching valentines, old skate."
The brisk young sheik of 'twenty-eight
   Hugs his short-skirted, shingled miss,
   And on her shoulder plants a kiss.
She taps a fag upon her knee
And ogles him complacently:
   "Give us a light, and cut the rot,
   I'm simply aching for a spot."

First published in The Herald, 14 February 1928

Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library

See also.