Disclaimer: No, I am not in love with ScienceWoman. I don’t even know her; I have never met her. I have never seen anything but her muddy boots. But something about those muddy boots triggered a Valentines Day verse-if her husband wants to steal it, he is more than welcome.

Here’s a valentine poem for an uncommon woman
An uncommon verse is the method that suits
It won’t be an ode to some delicate flower;
My love is a woman with mud on her boots.

Her hair is pulled back in a practical fashion
The dirt from her glove leaves a smudge on her cheek;
The sleeves of her sweatshirt rolled up to her elbow,
She’s beauty itself–but she’ll never be chic.

She’s smarter than I am, which isn’t surprising,
She’s comfortable both in the lab and the field
Gathering samples or sorting through data,
Excited to see what the process will yield.

I’ll take muddy boots over heels in a heartbeat,
The hand that I hold may have mud on its glove
This Valentines Day, here’s my uncommon poem
For my uncommon woman, the one that I love.

Further disclaimer: I have nothing against heels. A very dear friend has a collection of over 400 pairs, mostly unworn and collected for their artistic merit. But for any who think a stiletto is necessarily sexier than work boots… it ain’t necessarily so.