Dear Old Love

Duct Type

You came up with clever make-shift solutions for every home-repair, but when it was our relationship that needed mending you were suddenly out of ideas.

Is It a Choice?

I want to love someone else already. But I keep thinking, what if you love me, too, after all?

You said you hated that I was so apathetic. Little do you know I could hardly breathe around you, you made me so nervous that I always made excuses to leave. I’m full of emotion and passion. It was all for you.

Butt-In

I never thought much of my butt until you came along and said I had a great one. Now, I just wish you were still around to appreciate the perfect jeans I worked so hard to find.

Dangerous Liasions

Are you playing a game with me? Are you trying to wear down my commitment to another just to see if you can? Am I doing that to you?

So Ask!

When you dropped me off after saying you hated me five years back, I curled up in a ball in the hallway and cried. Now that we’re back in touch, I only want to ask you, “Why?!”

What is the Meaning of This?

I hate that I have to study French philosophy now. So many of them share your name. None of them are from the Bronx, though.

Keep Dancing

When we danced, our bodies and souls sang. Too bad we never found much to talk about.

The Pits

I miss the smell of your armpits, and how you’d sometimes hold my hand in bed.

Organ Request

I know you think I’m sexy. But I was asking for your heart, not your eyes.

Ryder Wrong

I had to find out from a Facebook wall post that you moved.

You Know It

I can take you back like that and you know it.

Crooked Lies, Crooked Lies

At least for her I hope you keep your lies straight—me, I’m glad you didn’t.

Misinterpret

I had sex with my husband today. I burst into tears at the end of it all, which he took for an orgasm. I miss you so much.

Double Quit

I am quitting you and smoking. Both are hard, but smoking’s tougher.

Dear Old Love at B&N

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About this

"Dear Old Love" is short notes to people we've loved (or at least liked). Requited or unrequited.

The ex-husband in Grace Paley's short story "Wants" says to his ex-wife, "I attribute the dissolution of our marriage to the fact that you never invited the Bertrams to dinner." If you're bitter, that's the way to express it here.

Please email pithy, specific "Dear Old Love" notes to dearoldlove(at)gmail.com. Posted submissions will be anonymous, and all submissions will be held in confidence. I would never sell or give away your email. (I wouldn't even know how.) If privacy is a concern, use an account with a pseudonym.

By emailing me, you're granting a permanent, royalty-free license to edit and use your "Dear Old Love" note in any way, but your note will remain anonymous. Dear Old Love will be published as a book by Workman in Fall, 2009. My name is Andy Selsberg. Thanks. Enjoy.