Qartulad: Dear Ex

So I’m writing this letter in the language you spoke in your sleep. The language your grandmother used when she cursed and blessed in the same breath. The language that holds three words for “morning” depending on how light touches the mountains.

Because some loves are like that. You don’t speak them — they speak through you. And even after the person leaves, the language stays. A ghost grammar. A motherland with no return visa. dear ex qartulad

I learned the words. But I never learned how to say goodbye in Georgian without it sounding like a door closing in a poem. Maybe that’s because there is no easy goodbye here. Just ნახვამდის — “until I see you again” — which is hope disguised as politeness. So I’m writing this letter in the language

Dear ex — I don’t want you back. But I want you to know: I finally understand what you meant when you said, "ქართულად ლაპარაკი გული მტკივა" — speaking Georgian makes my heart hurt. Because some loves are like that