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Does the thought of writing a love letter or poem automatically reduce your vocabulary to a 5-year-old's level? Well, believe it or not, that's a great place to begin!

Kids speak straight from the heart. They don't worry about tripping over the right words, they only know how to say what they want using the most simple language. As adults, we let our thinking get in the way of our emotions and worry about the details before we have the big picture.

Dream up a love letter
You don't need a sample love letter or a free printable love letter. You're going to dream up your own romantic love letters.

An indispensible tool for writing is a thesaurus. You'll find many free ones online; they're a wonderful aid to finding exactly the right word. Have paper and pen ready to jot notes, but forget about words and writing for now.

Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down, let your shoulders drop and take a few deep breaths, at least 5 or 6. Inhale deeply, feel the air going to the bottom of your belly, then slowly exhale as you pull in your abdomen.

Close your eyes and begin visualizing the one you love and create a movie of you slowly running your eyes over every inch of their body. What do you especially appreciate? View their eyes looking back at you, run your fingers through their hair, caress their cheek and softly brush your lips against theirs. See the smile of joy, the tilt of their head towards you, their arms around you. Feel their heart beat against yours and take in the warmth of their skin. Watch as they run towards you, eager to rush into your arms. How do you feel?

Let your movie continue running. Pull out the memories of when you had a lot of fun and laughter, your most passionate times together or when you were sad and your love silently held you close. Which of them brings up the most emotion in you? What do you see, hear, taste, touch and feel? What are they wearing . . . or not wearing?

Linger a bit longer; let the feelings run throughout your entire body. Are you getting little tingles running up and down your spine?

First love letter steps
The most emotional memories are the ones that will fuel your love letter or poem. You should be in a better mood for writing, relaxed and smiling. Take a few more deep breaths before you begin to write.

You don't have to get up; this might put you into *thinking* mode. Begin jotting notes down. Slowly replay each movie and describe the scenes with short, simple phrases, as a child would. Later on, you can link these shorter phrases into longer ones, but for now, you want to capture all the sensations, physically and emotionally, that being with the one you love means to you.

Love and emotions are abstract concepts so you need *furniture* to make it real. Your movie gives you this material. Relate the juicy details of the surrounding scenery, your love, what all your senses experience and add them to your love letter.

Now put it all together.

Instead of "When you walk into a room and smile at me, I forget what I'm thinking," add the furniture. "You quietly glide into the sunlight streaming through the window, your silky hair falls over your shoulder. And then you gently tilt your head towards me and flash me that quirky little half smile of yours that gets my heart beating faster, my lips tingling . . . and I forget everything I ever knew as our eyes meet and lock into an embrace."

No fancy words, there's only two words that have three syllables!

The "Laundry List" technique
If you find this difficult to do, the *laundry list* technique might work for you. Simply list all the qualities you appreciate about your love: physical, emotional, gestures, favorite sayings, funny habits. For physical, start at the top of their head and work down to their toes. For emotional, list different situations and how their response makes you feel.

Or you could make a list of all the dreams you both have and how you want to be together to share them.

Find a clip art heart (usually available in a word processing program) and use it as a bullet before each item in your list. Or give it a number, *101 Ways I Love You.* Then print out your list on fancy paper. Add a photo of you both, either digitally or glue it on afterwards. Spray on a little cologne (at a distance) and, voila, you have a romantic love letter.

Love Poems
A love poem can be the most daunting to attempt and many won't even try. If you really want to make up a poem, but feel you have no talent, cheat a little! Look up a favorite poem and see if you can change a few lines to personalize it. Or do the same with a favorite song lyric, then perform it karaoke style. Go all out and dress up for the occasion.

If you have a special occasion you*re celebrating, you may want to have a poet put your feelings into a formal poem for you. Reciting the poem will make a bigger impact than just handing it over and as it may be gift wrapped, make sure you have a copy to read aloud.

Once you get the hang of it, romantic love letters will flow from your heart and fingers. Remember the little kid in you and keep it simple.

Copyright 2005 Renee Michaels