If I Shut My Eyes, I Believed,

I Stared At Her Black Hair. It Was Shiny Like The Promises In Magazines.

Sometimes The Dreams That Come True Are The Dreams You Never Even Knew You Had.

But Also I Wanted Him To Go Away And Leave Me Be. I Was Granted One Weak Grace. Back In The Room Where The Green Chair Was Still Warm From His Body, I Blew That Lonely, Flickering Candle Out

I Loved The Way The Burned-out Flashcubes Of The Kodak Instamatic Marked A Moment That Had Passed, One That Would Now Be Gone Forever Except For A Picture.

Tess Was My First Experience Of A Woman Who Had Inhabited Her Weirdness, Moved Into The Areas Of Herself That Made Her Distinct From Those Around Her, And Learned How To Display Them Proudly.