TRIBUTE ODE: "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO MY RECTOR AND MOTHER" BY ZEPHNATH JUDE

To my Boss, my Mother,

Chief Dr. Chioma Irene Awuzie,

This Valentine is softer because you lead us.

In the quiet strength of your footsteps

through every nook and cranny of our institution,

love wears a working dress......

stitched with dedication,

lined with accountability,

buttoned with transparency.

You do not lead from a distant throne,

you lead from the center of our hopes.

Where merit is honored without discrimination,

where fairness breathes freely,

where opportunity is not a privilege

but a promise kept.

Your philanthropy is not noise......

it is a gentle rain

watering unseen struggles,

lifting silent dreams,

restoring faith in weary hearts.

Nwanyi K'Ibe ya global, today as the world celebrates romance,

we celebrate something rarer.....

a leader whose love is service,

whose power is compassion,

whose authority kneels to lift others.

You are not merely a Valentino in red,

you are a Christ-Valentine in spirit.....

replicating grace,

reflecting resilience,

radiating kindness that does not fade.

In your courage we find stability.

In your fairness we find trust.

In your resilience we find strength.

May this season return to you

the love you have poured so selflessly into us.

Happy Valentine, our exceptional Rector....

a heart of gold,

a spirit unbreakable,

a leader extraordinary.

©: ZEPHNATH JUDE POET EROBE N.

- Nigeria 

The poem celebrates a Rector not in romantic terms, but as a compassionate and selfless leader whose love is expressed through service, fairness, and integrity. It portrays her leadership as nurturing and transformative, likening her influence to gentle rain that restores hope and uplifts unseen struggles. Ultimately, it reframes Valentine’s Day as a tribute to sacrificial leadership and maternal guidance rather than romantic affection.Type of PoemIt is primarily a tribute poem