Dear Lovely Lady, One of the many things I enjoy in this world is words and the many ways they can be combined to communicate strong and figurative emotion, such as in poems or short stories. I would like to share with you a few of my works in 2019. In the poem below, I write about a love that is so pure that by certain standards could almost be described as obsessive. The concept of love is supremely intriguing to me, so it happens to show up in many of my works. I hope you enjoy this "Ode to Pure Love". Sincerely,  The Refined Lady An Ode to Pure Love With you, I walk on a fine line between obsession and passion. My legs, they tremble My knees, they’re weak The path to you is long I’ll crawl this stretch to you For love, To us, So darling, Let me show you what I know to be true. Let me show you what can’t be seen Through my lens Look at me and only me Watch me as I watch you I’ll make you mine in a way that is ju...

Dear Lovely Lady, I hope you had a wonderful day today full of good fortune and new opportunities. I had quite the wonderful day myself. On a sliding scale, I would have to say it was even above average. The only thing currently affecting my mood is my slowly dwindling battery life and my lack of motivation to find an outlet. Today got me thinking that a lot of the issues we face are all made in our heads. I remember once confiding in a friend of mine that I no longer understood who I was. I had become someone I could only barely recognize as a manufactured persona fit to serve the status quo with prerecorded answers to questions like what's your favorite food and where do you want to travel to. I wanted to be the daughter my parents could be proud of, the student her peers could look up to, a reliable friend to those around me. I'd started making decisions and life choices that would make everyone else happy without asking myself what would make me happy. I started to ...

Dear Lovely Ladies, Sometimes I ask myself where all the time has gone. I stand there mortified at the number of hours I've spent investing my precious resources into people that are no longer at my side. I feel foolish knowing that I cared so much only to let them use me and forget me. There may be a few ounces of pride in my body that don't allow me to reach out to those I used to consider my dearest friends. However, knowing that fact doesn't change my decision to stay away. I've managed to keep two close friends after college and even they appear to be getting farther and farther away from me, like bottles out at sea. Both of them are off on travels at the moment and I'm left here wondering where I went wrong.  A real friend never forgets your existence. They don't go days without checking in on you to see if you're okay. I say this because I think it's mature to reflect, to see what kind of friend we've become. After a while tho...