The following are excerpts from love letters:

Alimony blues

Darling J,

My lawyer told me not to contact you, but once in awhile, you need to be spoken to directly.

We’ve reached the fork in our lives and like Robert Frost I do not regret a thing. I may not have taken “the road less traveled by,” but I chose the life I wanted. I loved you the best I knew how and gave to our marriage selflessly and passionately.

Falling into expected roles can be dangerous. You needed more passion. I needed more affection. Maybe I didn’t cater enough to your needs. But I’m through apologizing.

I’m trying to hold on to my dignity. We’ve lost everything else, let’s not lose that. Please help me, Jay. Tell me that thirty-four years of marriage still means something.

With love,

H

Sparking jealousy

Dearest R,

It started out innocent enough, but then something happened...you're some hunk of man. I wish your wife knew how lucky she is: having you around to hold her, make love to her. It's not fair. I'm the one who longs for your kisses, your embraces. They belong to me, not to her...When will you succumb to my charms? Here's a kiss (SWAK) to last a lifetime.

J

Singles letter

Hello,

Let's not beat around the bush. Your ad intrigued me. I want to meet you and find out what I've been missing. I'm a rugged individualist who still believes in honesty, love, and sentiment. A flowers and candy kind of guy...If you're a natural woman of 24-35 looking for a real man of 36, we've got a date.

D

Lesbian affirmation

Dear M,

It's your birthday, and I want to say I love you. I've never felt committed to a man or woman before, but you have touched my heart like no one ever has before. You've brought me joy when there could have been emptiness...My God, what a surprise and thrill for a 40-year-old woman to find she can still fall in love. Together we can overcome anything: prejudice, hatred, envy. We are unstoppable. I can't wait to share the rest of my life with you.

E

Unrequited love

Darling G,

As we forge our separate ways into the future, let us recall the thrilling magic of spring, not the chilling frost of winter. I am like the indestructible phoenix. My spirit will rise again from the ashes of this relationship. I will love again. He will be kind, handsome, and brilliant, sort of like someone I used to know...But our journey ends here, now. We were not meant to grow old together. Be well my friend. I’ll never forget the last seven years.

Love, L

Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower, We will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind.—William Wordsworth, Ode: Intimations on Immortality,