Etchings In the Letters

To Whom I Mail The Pieces Of My Broken Heart,

I thought our foot prints side by side in the sand, should hold their weight and not be washed ashore by the tides of our confusion. I believed that the stars burned into our cornea’s, branded by our teenage lust would shimmer and not fall wish less from the night sky.

I yearned and you pulled, first closer, tempting space with sweat, emotion and deep rooted longing. Then you pulled away, slowly at first testing the waters one toe at a time. I hung on knowing my grip was insecure and fragile. So you pulled away harder and quickly skirted away.

I mail to you today the pieces of my broken heart. Labeled from numbers one through five, so that you can cross reference each piece with the document number that corresponds.

1. Trust

2. Enjoyment

3. Unconditional

4. Betrayal

And five, five remains unlabeled, for I leave piece five for you to choke on and savor the taste of my bitterness toward you and us. The taste of washed up memories of days wasted. These are the pieces of our failure. Make a necklace should you choose and wear them with pride. For I release these pieces of my heart and you.

I plant my feet next to one another in the sand as I let the waves wash over them, knowing that my self is now rooted in me within the sands of the beach stretching out with the tide.

Toodaloo,

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Dear Sir,

As you have probably have guessed by the tattered Scotch taped box left on your door step, we here at the US Postal Service regret to inform you, that your package was undeliverable. I have listed below for your reference five reasons why your package has not reached its final destination. Please note that these reasons have been difficult to list.

I am sure that you are aware that we are in the midst of a hurricane. And while we deliver through rain, sleet and snow, we can’t guarantee the packaging choices of our clients. We feel it is our duty to advise you that when packaging such delicate items, it is prudent to choose more substantial packaging materials. Perhaps a tin or heart shaped box would be more appropriate.

Which brings me to reason number one as to why we could not deliver your package?

1. You must use a biohazard label when transporting human organs.

Being that each one of us who works in the Saskatchewan US Postal Service office read your letter and felt great sympathy for you. We tried to deliver your package anyway. We’ve all been there was the consensus around the office.

2. “You Heartless Bitch!” and “Go to Hell!” are neither a name or an address.

But we really did try again. From the imagery you created in your letter, we were confident that we knew who you were trying to deliver the package to. But unfortunately my Mother-In-Law did not know who you were and denied the package.

3. It just smells terribly bad, and we don’t own refrigerated delivery vehicles.

4. After multiple attempts to deliver and a re-reading of the letter it now seems to us, just plain mean.

And finally reason 5, when the packaging broke in the storm we found one of our delivery dogs chocking on one of the pieces of your broken heart.

Again we off our apologies,

The US Postal Service