The very best letter of apology we can imagine is a strangely wonderful love letter artist H.C. Westermann‘s wrote to his wife Joanna Beall Westermann. “Dear Sweety”, it starts. Then he goes at it. As you scan the scribbles you can imagine it as an apology (which is a sort of love letter), when there is a lot to say but too much has been said already. Everyone knows what happened.
The simple message that needs to come through is love, heart, I’m sorry.
THAT would be the letter of apology we would like to send.
As we were contemplating it, a friend threw THIS haiku over our transom:
(It’s from the miraculous Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson, which our friend keeps on his bedside table for a perfect little hit before sleep, or upon waking.)
A “hesitant letter” or gesture is often what an apology is, as apologizing is rarely an easy thing. But it is a worthy and essential practice, as artist Holton Rower knew when he made a sign out of tape on one of his studio doors years ago, above.
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