Dear friend,
Did you ever care about someone more than you should have?
So much that it ended up hurting you more than it hurt them?
I guess that's a stupid question,
You told me as much the first week we met.

Dear colleague,
Did you actually hear what I had to say?
Or did you just listen with empty ears,
Did you see what was in front of you?
Is it what made you so scared so suddenly?

Dear sweetheart,
Did you know I fell in love with you?
If you didn't, it's okay,
I had just realized when it was definitely too late,
It's the only time I ever do really.

Dear lover,
When you look at her do you ever see me?
Sometimes when he talks to me the way you used to,
His eyes flash that startling blue for a second before going chocolate,
And I try to forget about it, but I don't.

Dear college graduate,
I haven't seen you in four years now,
I still think of you though,
Do you still think of me?
Do you ever start to write back?

Dear husband of another,
I heard you got married,
Did you get that island honeymoon you wanted?
I heard that your first dance was incredibly tacky,
To a song you claimed to hate yourself.

Dear lawyer,
It's ironic that you told me to go to law school, isn't it?
That I'm the one suffering for my art while you do paperwork,
I am happy though, even without you,
I hope you're still carefree too even in your stuffy firm.

Dear new father,
I can't believe you got a girl first when I have a boy,
If she has your blue eyes it will kill me,
Mine has them although they obviously aren't yours,
He's talking now…I almost wish he would stop.

Dear happily married,
I kicked my fiancée out today,
While our son was at school,
I'm just grateful I never liked the prospect of marriage,
Then I'd be sad and he'd have half my money.

Dear in-love-with-his-wife,
She called me last week to threaten me within an inch of my life,
After you get this tell her she's a twig and I'm never going to be afraid of her,
I will stop these scattered notes about my life though,
I do love you though, and you'll always be around even in your absence.

Dear vacationing at upstate New York house,
I know I promised I'd stop but I have something too important not to share,
I have been diagnosed with brain cancer, it's funny it shows up in my favorite organ,
I don't know if you'd be willing to see me, or if she'd let you,
It would just mean a lot to be able to say goodbye.

Dear dead-and-buried,
She burned the note, not that it matters I've divorced her now,
But it does, because I didn't know about you,
I would've come though,
I promise I would've.

Originally written: September 2008.