Download a pdf of my love poems for Minneapolis and St. Paul here: We Love, We Love, We Love, We Love. Please spread the love by sharing these poems with others!

This New Normal / Love #15 / 15 February 2026

It is 2026 and Minnesota is occupied by ICE. It is terrible. It is terrifying. And, it is full of hope and love as Minnesotans care for one another. So many beautiful, complex, and rich expressions and practices of love that are hard and fierce, generous and soft.  In this Valentine’s Day month, I am celebrating one particular practice of that love: the public declarations on Facebook and Instagram by local businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul of their support of and participation in the Day of Truth and Freedom on January 23rd, 2026.  From mid-January to mid-February, I collected statements by different businesses and turned them into cento and erasure love poems.

A Few Ways to Spread Love

If you would like to give some love back to local businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul, here is one way: Support the businesses on Eat Street, like Glam Doll Donuts, located across the street from where Alex Pretti was murdered by Border Patrol Agents, or the Copper Hen, who provided an eye-wash station for those who had been tear-gassed by ICE and CBP. For more information, including a long list of wonderful restaurants and shops and specific ways to help this area, see Show Up for Eat Street. 

If you found these love poems helpful in any way and would like to give me (Sara) some love, please share them widely. You can also support one of my favorite Minneapolis businesses:

Lynette: a neighborhood restaurant
Arbeiter Brewing
Moon Palace Books