Express your love on paper on Page H2 of Sunday, April 21, 2013 issue of Providence Journal
The days of the love letter seem to have drifted away from us. And, yet, we often cling to that one special letter that sent our hearts and spirits soaring. As I began looking into the art of writing the perfect love letter, I came across two intriguing finds: The Love Letter Collection, an online project of poet Cynthia Gray, and the book Words of Love: Quotations from the Heart: Allen Klein, A Viva Publication.
If you are ready for a trip down memory lane to when love poems and love letters had meaning, the online project offers the opportunity for participation. What makes it most intriguing is that, as noted on the site, collectiveexperience.org/ love.html, “You can submit a letter you’ve sent or received, or a letter you’d like to send but can’t. The love can be a fantasy love, unrequited love, impossible love, naive love, hopeful love, frustrated love, obsessed love, new love, old love or lost love.”
There are letters from “the suffocation place,” long and heart-wrenching, or short and simple as from “respiratory damage” — “Even so many years later, when you cross my mind … it still hurts to breathe… .”
After reading these, ask yourself if love letters are gifts from the heart or as Roxane Gay, who edits the collection, suggests, “Maybe, love letters are the kindest lies.”
In “Words of Love: Quotations from the Heart,” published by Viva Editions, the 10 chapters of short quotations are grouped into “What is Love?,” “Falling in Love,” “First Love,” “Romantic Love,” “Loving Couples,” “A Mother’s Love,” “Loving Yourself,” “Hugs and Kisses,” “Love Conquers All” and “Unconditional Love.”
The quotes are a collection of humor and wisdom, ranging from Zsa Zsa Gabor’s “A girl must marry for love and keep on marrying until she finds it” to Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “True love begins when nothing is looked for in return.”
If you are thinking about writing to your true love, this book is an inspiration.
What if your true love has gone? Write the letter that helps your heart to heal by remembering the good in the relationship.
What if the love in your life is disappointing you? Try wearing rose-colored glasses, and write a letter that expresses only the good times shared. How would you end such a letter? That would depend upon how you feel after your private thoughts are on paper. If your heart tells you that the relationship is over, give thanks for the joy that you both experienced and move on. If not, embrace the future with loving kindness.
Rita Watson ( ritawatson.com ) is an incurable romantic and relationship columnist for All About You.