To see and be seen. Untangling the crazy feelings and expressions of love. Love letters are a peculiar art. They're the heart's desperate attempts to reach out and grab something tangible in a world that's more often indifferent than not. Writing a love letter isn't about following a set of rules or crafting something pretty and poetic; it’s a lovemaking in plain light, naked and fully exposed. It is to see and be seen in the most detailed and profound way.
Camille... OUTSTANDING!!! I would not change one word in your piece because it's perfect. This is the gold standard for "how to write a love letter" and the depth of your understanding and your delivery of it... best ever! Well done!!!! Please write about "courting" so we can enjoy and learn from your spot on insights... thank you.
Courting, Love letters and poems! They seem to be lost in a time of media and rushing from this to that... Not me! I love courting, writing the poems and Love letters. For me it's an "all in" commitment, a risk it all, full open exposure that I have no choice not to take. But the downside sure bites when the outpouring doesn't connect.
Ah Serena! Thank you. You know, 99 is a very powerful number, containing the energy of how everything feels possible. Like when you're just about to get to the house you rented for the holiday, after a long journey. "We're just 5min away!" And just like that, the energy is refreshed.
Thank you for your contribution, I am very glad you enjoyed it.
That is a good point! I feel that energy of possibility this year as I have recently turned 49. Not to mention, you can’t get to 100 without the number 99!
And congratulations on all these hearts. I hope to one day have that much appreciation for one of my essays. 😍
This is gorgeous! You have so inspired me that, scarily, I'm planning to create my love letter and overthink why I shouldn't send it. Just to write it will blast my heart open. He is so rad 🩷
I am so glad you felt inspired! Did you write it yet? Sometimes, it's good to know just for ourselves. Writing is not a commitment to post for sure, so, one pressure at the time ;)
I did! I started it...but with this particular love, I could probably keep writing for years, the love is so big. I feel slightly intimidated to keep going...
Beautiful but there is a little naivety there. Although that’s raw and real, I like that, all my writing focuses on truth in all my past relationships, I’ve communicated truth.
Raw truth is the stuff of love. Tell me more about you?
Raw and real means truthful to me—quoting 1st paragraph: "Letting the raw, unfiltered truth spill out. "
I am rather new at loving so there is probably a bit of naivety. But a lot of us are quite new at love unfortunately and I believe as long as it comes from the heart, and from truth as you said, we'll be generous enough. Love can be a little bit fairy fairy haha so no wonder it gets sparkled with some naivety. I'll be happy to write a follow-up in 30 years or so. Lead the way?
Now with the cell-phone love letters and the writing of letters have fallen almost to no use or practice. But there was a time when it was as popular as drinking coffee in the morning or reading the newspaper. I am old enough to remember those days.
Yes, I used to write my good share of letters. When I was going to primary school, they would teach letter writing. Now that is a thing of the past. No school would teach letter-writing today. Those were other times.
Wow! I loved every inch of this. And to end it with this line: “I love you with a fierceness that doesn't need cosmic distances. It's right here, in the instantaneity of raw and the closeness of real.” Swoon!🥰 This makes me reflect on how everything we ever write - our attempts to see and be seen - is really just a love letter to the universe.
It represents the sharing of ideas and the drinking of nice wines and beers.
I love a roast dinner more than Jaime loves his Sassenach. More than Johnny loved June. More than Noah loved Allie. More than Clark loves Lois and more than Tidus loves Yuna.
More than early bird loves the worm.
I’m even capable of making THE BEST roast dinner. A bold claim I know 😂.
I hope that’s raised a smile and if so then job done.
Camille, as a writer who’s never really thought about writing a love letter for someone, I truly appreciated these words! I think that I do write love into my words for myself and my readers, although it’s not like tearing my heart open for a single person to look into. That terrifies me. I would like to challenge myself to write a love letter to someone though. Maybe I will make it a writing goal for me this year.
Danielle, maybe your love language and your love magic lies in other forms of expression and that is perfectly okay. Love letters are indeed terrifying and I would lie if I said I did not experience some strong vulnerability hangover after writing this. The discomfort will pass, and the word will stay. We gotta find the thrill in some risks don't we? Let me know if you hit that writing goal!
“The discomfort will pass, and the word will stay” - love that!!! Yeah, I hadn’t really considered it. I think it would be good at least to try, to see if I like it. I do love receiving words, so I could try making them for others too
My first poem to the one I am currently courting... writing love letters, what a great part of the courting process... you might consider writing about "courting" too.
Steve, what an abundant poem! Thank you for sharing it with us. I love how it sometimes gets a little cryptic, that only the one involved can understand all of it.
Thank you for your suggestion, I'd love to write about courting, it is an excellent idea!
A few months ago I was encouraged by a tiktok video to start writing weekly love letters to myself, but have been faltering in my commitment since I felt that the practice got a little stale and repetitive. Applying this advice seems like a great way to revamp that practice!
Camille... OUTSTANDING!!! I would not change one word in your piece because it's perfect. This is the gold standard for "how to write a love letter" and the depth of your understanding and your delivery of it... best ever! Well done!!!! Please write about "courting" so we can enjoy and learn from your spot on insights... thank you.
Thank you Steve for the encouragement! You actually made me feel like I won the gold medal at the Olympics.
Also, does that make me an unofficial love expert? I'll be sure to brainstorm a few things about courting ;)
Yes; courting!
Courting, Love letters and poems! They seem to be lost in a time of media and rushing from this to that... Not me! I love courting, writing the poems and Love letters. For me it's an "all in" commitment, a risk it all, full open exposure that I have no choice not to take. But the downside sure bites when the outpouring doesn't connect.
You are sublime < 3
I agree completely.
Thank you!
*blushing*
*blushing*
I feel like this is so much more than “How to write a love letter.”
It’s “How to communicate in a way that embodies your emotions completely without restraint as a way of life.”
Both my IQ and my emotional IQ improve when I read your words. So inspiring on multiple levels.
You read it right Thomas, I like to stack a few layers. “How to write a love letter” felt more clickbait (lol).
Love this. Brilliant. So much wisdom and beauty here. Thank you. 💜
Thank you Phoebe I'm glad you found a little something in this corner :)
What a beautiful essay! It doesn’t just describe how to write a love letter, it’s an invitation to live a beautiful life.
Thank you for this Camille. I wanted to be like #100, but alas, I think I’m only #99 by the looks of it. ☺️
Ah Serena! Thank you. You know, 99 is a very powerful number, containing the energy of how everything feels possible. Like when you're just about to get to the house you rented for the holiday, after a long journey. "We're just 5min away!" And just like that, the energy is refreshed.
Thank you for your contribution, I am very glad you enjoyed it.
That is a good point! I feel that energy of possibility this year as I have recently turned 49. Not to mention, you can’t get to 100 without the number 99!
And congratulations on all these hearts. I hope to one day have that much appreciation for one of my essays. 😍
Keep writing Serena! A 9 is just a step before a new beginning.
😊
This is gorgeous! You have so inspired me that, scarily, I'm planning to create my love letter and overthink why I shouldn't send it. Just to write it will blast my heart open. He is so rad 🩷
I am so glad you felt inspired! Did you write it yet? Sometimes, it's good to know just for ourselves. Writing is not a commitment to post for sure, so, one pressure at the time ;)
Love "one pressure at a time."
I did! I started it...but with this particular love, I could probably keep writing for years, the love is so big. I feel slightly intimidated to keep going...
Beautiful but there is a little naivety there. Although that’s raw and real, I like that, all my writing focuses on truth in all my past relationships, I’ve communicated truth.
Raw truth is the stuff of love. Tell me more about you?
Bill, I'd love it if you could expand on that?
Raw and real means truthful to me—quoting 1st paragraph: "Letting the raw, unfiltered truth spill out. "
I am rather new at loving so there is probably a bit of naivety. But a lot of us are quite new at love unfortunately and I believe as long as it comes from the heart, and from truth as you said, we'll be generous enough. Love can be a little bit fairy fairy haha so no wonder it gets sparkled with some naivety. I'll be happy to write a follow-up in 30 years or so. Lead the way?
Sounds liberating
3am again
I sit on my porch
In my porch
Me and the cats
I hear the world move about
I write bad poetry
Liberating
The darkness surrounds
We are old friends
The comforting sounds of the rain
On the metal awning
Woods in front of me
Someone is watching
The cats tell me where
The rain is light
There is no wind
Air is heavy
No movement
My coffee is cold
It is too hot outside
There is freedom in coffee
My madness
My madness
My madness is not madness
Life is full
Choices
I am alone
Too alone really
alone is what I need
Flowers will bloom
butterfly will come
Why is life so hard
And why is the hardness, brutality
Rawness the stuff i lust after
My body is beat up
My mind is strong
body and mind
My words are life
And my life is
I am ok with that
It is 3am
The rain is wanting to fall
There is no wind
The cats are sitting quiet
The woods are dark
I am being watched
Ghosts
Perhaps yes
My soul lightens as the thread of words
Unravels
From the infinite universe
Of my mind
I understand now
Freedom
And it sounds
Liberating
liberation comes with a cost
A torrent of confusion
Only in that there are too many
Directions
Paths of light
And the feeling of the travel
Through the infiniteness
Time and space
I am on my porch, looking at the woods
They watch back
The pattering of the rain
It is 3am,
again
Time between light and dark
The earth is spinning
I am trying to hold on
But maybe i should
Let go
I build walls of self sabotage
Think of a brick, no rock wall
Rocks stacked high
The other side is freedom
Sounds liberating
Will the wall come down
Yes, it is not real
Just temporary
My soul is light as I write
For you
I place my hand on your bare
Navel
Once tethered to the light of the universe
I still feel the light
My hand gives you energy and I
Take some as well
Touch
Touch is needed
I am holding on at the earth spins
I sit on the porch, listening to the rain
There are wood in front of me
It is 3am
I am not scared
The universe is watching
I am
a part of it
The earth is spinning
The blue light is bouncing
Off the sliver of the moon
But that is behind me
Above the clouds
I saw it yesterday
But it is still there
Am I mad
Lay still, and breathe
Breathe deep and feel
My hand on your bare belly
My palm over your navel
Once the beginning
The light
Do you feel my hand, are you breathing
Two souls
Freedom of another soul
God, jesus, buddha,
A path to enlightenment
There is none, we are
Connected
I am sitting on my porch, it is 3am
Time between night and day
The earth is spinning
The woods are alive
The cats are asleep
My had is on your navel
Breathe
Are you breathing
Do you feel my hand
This is where it all started
The rain has stopped
It is 4am
We are sitting on my porch
There are woods
Across the street
One of the cats is awake
The earth is spinning
The wave of the universe
Is building
We are one
Are you breathing
Breathe
Time to sleep
My first question is, are you real?
If so I will expand.
Gosh! This was such a delectable read. I love honest love letters: raw and real.
Thanks for sharing this masterpiece with us, Camille.
I am glad you enjoyed your read! Cheers to all the future honest love letters, sent and received.
Now with the cell-phone love letters and the writing of letters have fallen almost to no use or practice. But there was a time when it was as popular as drinking coffee in the morning or reading the newspaper. I am old enough to remember those days.
Was it? I was made for those days! How did we let good things slip away?
Were you one of those who would write as many letters as they sipped coffee?
Yes, I used to write my good share of letters. When I was going to primary school, they would teach letter writing. Now that is a thing of the past. No school would teach letter-writing today. Those were other times.
Wow! I loved every inch of this. And to end it with this line: “I love you with a fierceness that doesn't need cosmic distances. It's right here, in the instantaneity of raw and the closeness of real.” Swoon!🥰 This makes me reflect on how everything we ever write - our attempts to see and be seen - is really just a love letter to the universe.
I believe you are right Nida! It’s saying to the universe “I write for you to witness me witnessing you.”
Just got done writing a love letter that I wasn’t too sure abt and then I saw this and that’s kinda kismet I feel
Amazing! I am so glad it found you when you needed it!
Really good piece.
I have the perfect love letter.
Camille,
I love you more than I love a roast dinner.
Vulkan
xxxx
See. Whats more romantic than that LOL. Short and simple lol.
Thank you for that short and sweet love letter!
You see, to believe it I would need to know how much you love a roast dinner.
Either by:
1) Knowing you, and by experience know how much a roast means to you.
2) You describing how much you love a roast dinner.
A roast means everything to me.
It represents home, comfort and family.
It represents the sharing of ideas and the drinking of nice wines and beers.
I love a roast dinner more than Jaime loves his Sassenach. More than Johnny loved June. More than Noah loved Allie. More than Clark loves Lois and more than Tidus loves Yuna.
More than early bird loves the worm.
I’m even capable of making THE BEST roast dinner. A bold claim I know 😂.
I hope that’s raised a smile and if so then job done.
Now, THAT is a truly epic love letter!
I am delighted with how that roast unfolded. There's a whole world in that dinner.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope the rest of your day is awesome!!
Lovely post, Camille.
Thanks a lot, Harun!
Camille, as a writer who’s never really thought about writing a love letter for someone, I truly appreciated these words! I think that I do write love into my words for myself and my readers, although it’s not like tearing my heart open for a single person to look into. That terrifies me. I would like to challenge myself to write a love letter to someone though. Maybe I will make it a writing goal for me this year.
Danielle, maybe your love language and your love magic lies in other forms of expression and that is perfectly okay. Love letters are indeed terrifying and I would lie if I said I did not experience some strong vulnerability hangover after writing this. The discomfort will pass, and the word will stay. We gotta find the thrill in some risks don't we? Let me know if you hit that writing goal!
“The discomfort will pass, and the word will stay” - love that!!! Yeah, I hadn’t really considered it. I think it would be good at least to try, to see if I like it. I do love receiving words, so I could try making them for others too
Writing them does not mean you have to show/send/give them away ;)
We can make whole books from unsent love letters.
But then, how sad would it be to not let people know how amazing they are?
Ooh you pose two very good arguments! Haha we will see how it goes
I love the creativity in it, that you demonstrate in your post. Looks so fun!
My first poem to the one I am currently courting... writing love letters, what a great part of the courting process... you might consider writing about "courting" too.
420 Universe Cookie...
Precisely 4:20 p.m.
4/20/24
front to back
back to front
420
Point in time documented
once in a life time of the Universe
shared with a Lovely Muse
and a Double Chocolate Cookie
both infinitely sweet
Not just a Cookie
not just a Chocolate Cookie
Double Chocolate Cookie
no crumb left behind
every single moment delightfully relished
Not just a Muse
not just a Lovely Muse
Double Lovely Muse
no Moment left behind
every single moment delightfully relished
Extraordinary
both Cookie and Muse
Thankful, Grateful
Blessed
by a Cookie and a Smile
Energy rays of light
birthed by our Sun
travels 93 million miles
through the window
a luminous dagger
slices across my Cookie
warming it
Chocolate top
softens, melts
sugar crystals sparkle like stars
like the Anasazi “Sun Dagger”
piercing sandstone slabs
Fajada Butte
Chaco Canyon, NM
connecting Heaven and Earth
Sun Energy
nuclear fusion core
gamma rays collide with electrons in Atoms
releasing energy as photons
creating visible rays of light
93 million miles traveled
lands on my final morsel
of Double Chocolate Cookie
warming the last bite
the size of a quarter
Last bite sits silent
center of small round plate
surrounded by white
casting a shadow
like a rock in Zen Garden
Both waiting
for that right moment
anticipation
always good to have something
to look forward to
Slowly
mindfully
thumb, middle finger
gently taken
with appreciation
Perfect finish
like Cherry Blossoms
raining down
fluttering on the breeze
as they float away
Index finger
dab crumbs
last morsel
licked
savored with intent
Us
Sun
Universe
molecules of Cookie and Smiles
all made of the same
From the same
to return to the same
all the same thing
just arranged differently
like Taco Bell food
Sun rays
Universe Energy
transformed to Chocolate
to a sweet Smile
Joy and Bliss
Lovely day
amazing Cookie
Magical Muse
Sweet Energy
delightfully relished
315 words
19 stanzas
1 amazing Cookie
1 Lovely Muse
both infinitely sweet
Steve, what an abundant poem! Thank you for sharing it with us. I love how it sometimes gets a little cryptic, that only the one involved can understand all of it.
Thank you for your suggestion, I'd love to write about courting, it is an excellent idea!
I look forward to you doing just that!
A few months ago I was encouraged by a tiktok video to start writing weekly love letters to myself, but have been faltering in my commitment since I felt that the practice got a little stale and repetitive. Applying this advice seems like a great way to revamp that practice!
I am glad this can bring a fresh perspective in reviving your self-love practice! What a wonderful way to use my little advices!