I learnt to write to you in happier days,
And every letter was a piece I chipped
From off my heart, a fragment newly clipped
From the mosaic of life; its blues and grays,
Its throbbing reds, I gave to earn your praise.
To make a pavement for your feet I stripped
My soul for you to walk upon, and slipped
Beneath your steps to soften all your ways.
But now my letters are like blossoms pale
We strew upon a grave with hopeless tears.
I ask no recompense, I shall not fail
Although you do not heed; the long, sad years
Still pass, and still I scatter flowers frail,
And whisper words of love which no one hears.

- Amy Lowell

"...As we have seen, many of the daily decisions we take are taken to attempt to fulfil a need that we are not aware exists. We are constantly trying to either protect ourselves from the thought that we are unlovable, to distract ourselves from the thought that we are unlovable, or to recreate repressed situations to "prove to ourselves" we are not unlovable; and with millions upon millions of us all doing this, so the Western world is actually starting to become just a mass of avoidance strategies. We are each of us interpreting our world in a way that allows us to avoid confrontation with repressed conflicts from our past; and with a society based on supply and demand, so our planet is slowly being compelled to facilitate all these avoidance strategies in order that our minds can continue to hold down all the pain within."

I took the train up from illinois

I was following through on a letter you sent

I always feared that you'd be true

True to yourself to the bitter end

It just kinda happened, or so she says

She was drinking and lonely, you know the rest

And he meant nothing, he was happenstance

She says she loves me still and wants a second chance

But i don't wanna be together

I don't wanna be apart

I don't want none of this love for you honey

Deep, deep down in my heart

Where is my golden crown

That you took and passed around

There's no telling what a man might do

With a life like this when it all falls through

I don't wanna be together

I don't wanna be apart

I don't want none of this love for you honey

Deep, deep down in my heart

You were my dream come true

Can't you see what you've put me through

The love that tears me apart

Still beats deep, deep down in my heart

Deep, deep, deep down in my heart

it may not always be so;and i say
that if your lips,which i have loved,should touch
another's,and your dear strong fingers clutch
his heart,as mine in time not far away;
if on another's face your sweet hair lay
in such a silence as i know,or such
great writhing words as,uttering overmuch,
stand helplessly before the spirit at bay;

if this should be,i say if this should be-
you of my heart,send me a little word;
that i may go unto him,and take his hands,
saying,Accept all happiness from me.
Then shall i turn my face,and hear one bird
sing terribly afar in the lost lands.

~ e.e.cummings

Dieting is easier when you don’t have an appetite.

Even though you’ve become massively in debt from gifts you bought your ex, at least your newfound addiction to cigarettes has left you with bad breath.

Since on average you fall in love every 9 years, you’ll only be 40 when it happens again.

You get to do a huge spring-cleaning regardless of the season since half your stuff is now in the “memorabilia” category.

You get to experience what its like to be a depressed, tormented artist… just without the motivation or talent.

Crying at movies no longer makes you feel stupid, since it’s the only place where its okay to do it in public.

You can appreciate the nuanced subtlety in the lyrics to Richard Marx’s “I’ll be waiting right here for you”.

You finally get to learn how to delete a number in your cell phone address book.

The fact that your cell phone now has 148 empty slots, gives you a new urgency in reconnecting with lost friends.

You get to experience a deep warm connection when the guy at Starbucks says "Have a nice day!" and smiles.

You can do empirical studies on whether alcohol is actually a depressant.
You find yourself answering the question “How are you today?” honestly and at great length.

You get to finally reconnect with your pet.

You begin to wonder whether pets think in sentences and whether the words” i love you “ ever crossed their minds.

You get to look forward to dates where you catch someone else up on how many siblings you have as well as all the other mundane facts of your life.

You get to hone your marketing skills by attempting to sell “beauty on the inside” in noisy bars.

You can try to convince your parents that they owe you money considering how much they saved since you aren’t going to have a wedding.

Boggle is easier to win when you play by yourself.

You can remember old times by revisiting the single-serving coffee maker your mom bought you during college.

You get to rely on that killer instinct you used to have when choosing an outfit for a night out.

Watching your friends children have temper tantrums no longer has the same ominous implications and returns to just being plain funny.


P.S. Don't worry...it'll all be okay...I promise.

Off to Cal Ee Forn Eye Aye

Oh, Chunwoo: thank you for reminding me: I can't believe that you led
me down the path on "grundle." That was cold of you. Fortunately I
checked it out before using it publicly. Nevertheless, I suffered the
indignity of being taken for a ride in class. Ice cold.

Yes, let's get a drink some time. I'd enjoy that. I'm teaching summer
school, looks like, so I'll be around.

Best, Tristan Davies