Dont

no matter what you do, don't fall in love with the same person twice.

don't stay up all night laying on your side thinking of ten years ago when you stayed up all night. don't think of calling and then not call and then wake up and not call but want to call.

don't write love letters, no matter what. don't fill up notebooks with love letters and read your childhood notebooks to compare love letters and laugh because you're saying the same things, just more eloquently.

never, ever put on those CDs you used to listen to and sing along to all the lyrics at the top of your lungs because why not, you still remember them. don't write your initials in hearts! don't draw hearts, don't even think about hearts.

whatever happens, don't fall for small tokens. don't dogear pages of gifted books and don't run your fingers over the creases of notes that were passed and then a thousand times folded. don't stay for dessert.

when it comes time, don't say yes to a date. don't say yes to a second date, and don't say yes to staying the night, even though the pit of your stomach burns in the same way it used to. don't wake up the neighbors with your moans, and don't light a cigarette and blow smoke rings to the three am moon because your heart is pounding even if the night is still. don't wake up in the morning to the smell of eggs and the sound of singing in the kitchen, loud, clear, exactly as you remember.

don't ease yourself back into that feeling. don't feel like you know more because no matter what the second time is the same trouble as the first time just more tricky. don't convince yourself that people change. don't think about it, don't think about it in the morning, in the afternoon, and late at night.

don't even ask whether things are different. they're not. you're falling in love with the same person twice. don't pretend you don't know what you're getting yourself into.