Love Letters and Poems: Purging One's Heart Upon Paper

Have you ever given or received a love letter?  Back in high school somebody slipped a racy note into my locker.  I never did find out who wrote it but spent much time thinking about who might have.  My novel revolves around such a note including a painstaking poem, leading to a violent confrontation, as well as, the most intense sexual suspense imaginable!  This is the poem Jo Martini slips into Laura Needler's locker:

As seen in my dream, I confess

You thrived as a beautiful Princess

Upon a stately steed,

 Between supreme oaks 

 You paid no heed

 Cloaked by twilight

 Galloping at top speed 

 Toward a moonless night

 Your hair flowed upon the wake

  Of growing shadows along a lake

 In a mystical mood, I awoke 

And did conclude, the myriad ways

Of your vast pulchritude  

      Might never be sufficiently praised

      Though the universe of my heart 

       Would strive, utterly enchanted 

        If by chance a chance is granted  

Please share your experiences with love letters.  Would love to hear about them!

Shakespeare's Comparison as a Compliment can Lead to some Very Special Treatment

Not long ago I read Shakespeare's Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? I found the sonnet so beautiful and powerful, it choked me up!  I mean, what a concept.  Take something that's amazingly beautiful in it's own right, describe it in detail, all the while letting a lover know she's even more beautiful than that!

Let's try it, off the cuff: Shall I compare thee to a starry sky?  Your eyes bedazzle as the bejeweled stars, like an ongoing dance, found sparkling evermore above the horizon of your fond smile, even more beautiful than the nocturnal canvass, radiating through my heart in eternal love for you.  

Of course, Prince's song Nothing Compares 2 U, sung beautifully by Siead O'conner, generalizes the technique of comparison to encompass everything, e.g nothing compares to your beauty, your love, your friendship, etc.  Though I love this song, Shakespeare's method of using a specific reference (a summer's day) seems to engage the imagination more than Prince's generalization.

Give it a try if you want to.  Sharing a sensually poignant comparison can lead to some very special treatment!  Besides a summer's day or a starry sky, what works well as a comparison to a woman's beauty?  What might women use to compare how they feel about a boyfriend or husband?