Injection

I was browsing around the library while Z was playing chess, and I stumbled on a book that seemed very relevant to my interests: Love, Kurt — The Vonnegut Love Letters, 1941-1945.

I sat down and paged through it a bit. Oh, he was good. So damned good. No surprise, I guess. Good enough that I went ahead and checked the book out (I grabbed The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien while I was at it, just to balance things out… and because, I mean…).

Well. As much as I would love to take all the credit for every word that I have ever written, I have to admit that this won't be the first injection of external inspiration into my letters to you. Last spring, while I was off floating around in the Gulf of Mexico, I read through several of the letters John Keats wrote to Fanny Brawne in a book entitled So Bright and Delicate. If you ever wondered where all the “my sweet lady”'s and the “ever yours in affections”'s came from… there's your answer.

And “So Bright and Delicate.” Gosh, just four words, and yet they are so perfect. I could only dream that I've ever found such lovely words for you… You deserve it. You deserve all of it. You deserve every beautiful turn of phrase ever written by every single one of the masters of language… So much… more… than my pale imitations…

But I do my best.

But it'll be interesting to see what a little injection of Vonnegut does. For now, though… I'll leave you with a direct quote:

…I adore you for being the heavenly cluster of ideas and woman you are. I would do anything on God's charred acre to make you happy.

Same, Kurt. Same.

Good lord, I love you my sweet lady. Not more than life itself… because you are life.

(and we can thank both John and Kurt for that one…)

Yours,
♒️