It’s almost that time of the year when big pink hearts take over storefronts, over 190 million cards are exchanged, and the average U.S. consumer will spend $103 on gifts, meals, and entertainment,. Yup, St. Valentine’s Day. The day of L-O-V-E.
I’m not one to make a big hoopla about this holiday – I’m one of those people who prefers to receive flowers or a gift on random days rather than on a day when there are such high expectations. But, a handwritten card or a poem, ah, that I will never turn away. 
This year, my Valentine’s Day gift to my husband is a copy of SMITH magazine/Harper Perennial’s Six Word Memoirs of Love and Heartbreak: By Writers Famous and Obscure. It’s a pocket-sized paperback (4X6, a little smaller in size than your average Valentine’s Day Card, but chock full of so many more wishes and reflections on matters of the heart).
This book is the second offering from SMITH Magazine whose initial invite to writers two years ago was a simple one (inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn): Everyone has a story. Can you tell yours in six words? The submissions poured in like crazy and soon enough they had published the NYT bestselling Not Quite What I Was Planning. (
The book features my very own six word memoir on page 13:
Sleeping, our foreheads touch. Fates mingle.
As I was flipping through the book, I came across another one-liner by our very own mutineer V.V. on page 70:
My book title makes dating awkward.
There were several more six-word desi memoirs that made it into the book:
Girl beautiful. No Mercedes. No love. – Sujoy Kumar Chowdhury
I fixed him but broke myself. – Amal Khairul
Proposal. Dowry. Bethrothal. Marriage. Children. Love. – Mitali Perkins
Arranged marriage now sounding pretty good. – Saleem Reshamwala
Add your own six word memoir (consider it your Valentine’s day greeting to the world) in the comments section before midnight on Sunday, February 15th. V.V. (author of the Washington Post choice for one of the best books of 2008, Love Marriage will pick two winners who will each receive a free copy of Six Word Memoirs of Love and Heartbreak. And, that’s our V-Day gift to you.
Below the fold, check out a book trailer for inspiration.
Incidentally, Sepia had its own six-word party a few years ago. Check it for some inspiration.)
I’ll get it right next time?
Crabs: gifts of love, pets forever!
Johnnie, Jimmy, Jack, Jose…never leave.
Mah heart – I haz losted it.
Status update: Looking for Mr. Goodbar.
Silly Rabbit, tricks are for money!
“Not yet…” “Now?” “…Yes.” “…oh, Charu…”
How can she slap me sir?
For a thousand years, or more
Feminists and queerfolk have better sex.
You had me at L.Ron Hubbard.
Thank God Valentine’s Day Is Over.
You practice abstinence? What the fuck??
I dream of you, you two.
God, it was like a shiver.
Damn, my memoir is seven words!
” Ravage me,” she said. I foundered.
Why better sex with unsightly women?
Her period took pressure off me.
Dated lesbian. She cheated. Not jealous!
New York heartbreak lasted a block!
Your liquid voice leaves a scar.
Smiles melt. Hearts break. Plummers crack.
Her perfume lingered in the corridor
comment #113 and #116 are from 2 different contestants using the same IP address
Evan
But I didn’t expect such flexibility.
Never again- my famous last words
Needs a break, wants a vacation. Needs a job, wants a career. Needs love, wants soulmate.
Mom bemoans, aunties taunt. Female. Unmarried. Arrived at 30.
Gongkura pickle equals love Andhra style.
Sepia destiny; ethereal emails; long-distance loneliness.
7 · Rahul said
perfect, even if he can’t dance.
we’re friends, but i dig her
this g-rated shit’s gotta end now
“She was taken. And very intrigued.”
No von mises, I really liked that one 🙂
and
“when she burps, i don’t mind.”
papaji, you’re on a roll, huh? 🙂
she bent over backwards for me
The only thing a wife needs to give her husband on Valentines day is sex.
Her tone deaf singing hypnotized me
Respect you afterwards? God, you’re gullible. The cab fare’s on the table. Valentine is over. Get out now.
(Dinner and movie? Booty-call was expensive!)
Sometimes your words just hypnotize me.
You expected flowers?! There’s a recession! Economize. Skip dinner. Main course right-away. (Been reading William Saletan on Slate?) You were hardly my first choice. I could not find anybody else. Cash upfront. No complications. True love.
she had swagger like me. 🙁
Hotel California, 6 o’clock. “Hi! Honey.”
The idea of us scared us.
Bobby and Piyush? It’s complicated, man.
Silly wabbit. Trysts are for kids.
He kept his socks on. Weird.
“Promise me we’ll be friends after.”
If I exist, she exists. Right?
Tried to rekindle. Found oysters instead.
It was carnal until it ended.
Naive to their flaws, it worked.
Success in marriage is attributed falsely.
Bad marriage, thirty years and counting.
Destiny is a serendipitous narrative fallacy.
Parent’s said no and love ended.
(Sums it better than anything else 🙁 )
By the way, Lupus Solitarius, noon ennui, and Taz: lovely
Parents said no and love ended.
(Sums it better than anything else 🙁 )
By the way, Lupus Solitarius, noon ennui, and Taz: lovely
She’s funny; we laugh; souls mingle
He was busy. She was persuasive.
She handled it like a confection.
His kiss was a conversation stopper.
When captured in silhouette, she’s perfection.
You can wheelbarrow without a garden.
She will only take in strays.
So that’s how your face looks.
What we did should be frescoed.
Without you, it’s just a fuck.
The walls need better insulation.
Four poster beds are a meetinghouse.
Your ears, neck, back, fingers…delicious…
Secretly written on buttocks: “He’s married.”
It all ends in pain eventually.
Happy anniversary. What have we learned?
Yikes, I wrote quite a bit.
Change the grammatically incorrect Four Poster poem to: Four poster beds are lover’s meetinghouses.
never been kissed. is that criminal?
1) You had me at hello. Goodbye.
2) Lost myself in her heart, eyes.
Mom: Love her? How much percent? (followed by “don’t worry about bothering us if it’s less than 70”)
Accidental Enlightenment- Thank you. Your entry is very hard hitting, I must say.
Burning woman hugs husband, both die.
This is not mine, it is an actual news-item from today’s Times Of India website about a tragic case of dowry death in Chennai.
Flatter me. Tell me I exist.
I felt beautiful. Alas, morning came.
Rings bind us in the darkness.
Hi Mutiny,
I’m in transit in an airport with wireless, so I’ll see how much I can narrow these down right now. Thanks for participating
V.V.
you make me feel I’m funny!
You make me look funny!
He dances. She cries. Bollywood ending.
can’t resist pulling another romantic tragedy beautiful beginnings, sad endings, beautiful beginnings beautiful beginnings, sad endings, beautiful sadness she only killed; i crucified myself my nerve endings don’t care anymore i love all my octuplets equally pin up girl pinned my adolescence work 9-5, rest, then love 6-9 yaar, she totally rocked me man
You’re the light of my life. You’re my companion for all eternity. You’re my partner and much more. You’re the goal of my hardwork. Your smile is my greatest reward. . I’m sorry I forgot our aniversery. And that I missed your birthday. And ordered Pizza on Karva Chauth. And spent Valentines with my buddies. But they’re only dates, are’nt they? . We share so much more together. Please say that all is forgiven. I want to lie beside you. (I hope that does the trick. The couch is getting very uncomfortable.)
“1. Flatter me. Tell me I exist.”
“2. I felt beautiful. Alas, morning came.”
nice!
“The couch is getting very uncomfortable.” dizzydesi, many of yours on this thread were very nice. a tad cynical though 🙂
“1) You had me at hello. Goodbye.” RSSparkL849, this is very evocative 🙂
S.I.N.G.L.E
Stay Inebriated Nightly; Get Laid Everyday.
That Rakshabandhan changed things between us.