My personal favorite is Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s dedication on The Little Prince. What are your favorites?
“To Leon Werth
I ask children to forgive me for dedicating this book to a grown-up. I have a serious excuse; this grown-up is the best friend I have in the world. I have another excuse: this grown-up can understand everything, even books for children. I have a third excuse: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs to be comforted. If all these excuses are not enough, then I want to dedicate this book to the child whom this grown-up once was. All grown-ups were children first. (But few of them remember it.) So I correct my dedication:
To Leon Werth When he was a little boy”
The ones from Lemony Snicket to Beatrice in the Unfortunate Events books:
To Beatrice—
Darling, dearest, dead.
For Beatrice—
My love for you shall live forever.
You, however, did not.
For Beatrice—
I would much prefer it if you were alive and well.
To Beatrice—
My love flew like a butterfly
Until death swooped down like a bat
As the poet Emma Montana McElroy said:
‘That’s the end of that.’
For Beatrice—
You will always be in my heart,
in my mind,
and in your grave.
For Beatrice—
When we met, my life began.
Soon afterward, yours ended.
For Beatrice—
When we were together I felt breathless.
Now, you are.
For Beatrice—
Summer without you is as cold as winter.
Winter without you is even colder.
For Beatrice—
Our love broke my heart,
and stopped yours.
For Beatrice—
When we first met, you were pretty, and I was lonely.
Now, I am pretty lonely.
For Beatrice—
Dead women tell no tales.
Sad men write them down.
For Beatrice—
No one could extinguish my love,
or your house.
For Beatrice-
I cherished, you perished.
The world’s been nightmarished.
For Beatrice—
We are like boats, passing in the night-
particularly you.
holy shit i’m actually crying