• About verysincerely

verysincerely

~ letters from novelist to world. the rest at kellysimmonsbooks.com.

verysincerely

Monthly Archives: April 2012

Dear Friend of a Friend of a Friend,

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by Kelly Simmons in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

advice for writers, Kelly Simmons, picking your brain

You say you have a novel in you.

But since it took you nine meandering paragraphs to inform me of this, I’m not sure you even have an email in you.

So please don’t ask to pick my brain.  First, you need to pick up quite a few other things. Including a dictionary.

Very sincerely,

The Novelist

 

Dear Yoga Teacher,

13 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by Kelly Simmons in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

benefits of yoga, Kelly Simmons, yoga wisdom

Thank you for not laughing when three of us fell. Thank you for not adjusting me too strenuously, as life has already done that this week.

Thank you for saying, “Every act of violence or war begins in a tense body.”

You may have kept me from committing murder.

Very sincerely,

Your student Image

Dear Receptionist at The Surgeon’s Office,

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Kelly Simmons in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

cancer, doctor patient etiquette, how to talk about cancer, Kelly Simmons

Thank you for listening to my half-questions, my stumbled-over sentences.

Thank you for understanding that asking ‘where should I park?’ is the only way I can control what is happening.

Thank you for laughing with me when I tripped over the word ‘cancer’, as if it was a five-syllable foreign word I had never said before.

Thank you for knowing it was a word I’d never said before.

Thank you for hearing the tears in my voice. Thank you for not putting me on hold, for not rolling your eyes, for not thinking about all the food you had to cook when your entire family came over on Sunday.

Thank you for being so generous and kind.

And I hope that by the end of this month, I never, ever have to talk to you again.

Very sincerely,

The Patient’s Mother

Dear Owner of The Rental House,

01 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by Kelly Simmons in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

altars, grieving, widowers

Your dead wife’s things are all around me.  Her photos, her paintings, her perfumes.  I understand this. I understand grief.

Part of me even understands the altar you created in the living room, set with her memorial service program, her incense, notes in her handwriting.  Yes, this is an unusual backdrop for watching old Hugh Grant movies on your big screen TV.

You rent this house by the week, inviting us in, asking everyone who shares it to think of her, to wonder about her, to help you keep her alive.

I am doing my part, the part you seek, by writing about you both.  About a marriage and a bond so strong, that a woman’s half-finished oil paintings still hang in your garage studio, as if you are waiting for her brush to hover over the stretched canvas once again.  Hoping the picture will complete itself, to see what was in the painter’s heart all along.

And yet, I think you already know.

Very sincerely,

Your Tenant

Recent Posts

  • Dear God,
  • Dear Man in White Suit,
  • Dear Refrigerator,
  • Dear Hot UPS Guy,
  • Dear Man With Gun,

Archives

  • March 2019
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • October 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • April 2016
  • December 2015
  • July 2015
  • February 2015
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • January 2014
  • August 2013
  • April 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012

Categories

  • Uncategorized
  • Work

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.