MY MOTHER’S SCARVES

Blue paisley when she feels humble Green polka dots when the beauty parlor is closed Stars and stripes for the Fourth Red and green for Yuletide Magenta for seducing the department chair Navy blue for telling my father it never happened Pink and yellow for the parent-teacher conference Beige to Read more

Why Female Fireflies Fake Death

She walks to the deli to get some lunch. She will get catcalled, but she’ll pretend she hasn’t heard it. Her pace and heartbeat will increase with every additional comment, the unwanted attention crawling up her legs like an invisible hand. She’ll want to say something, but she’ll remember the Read more

It’s All My Fault

They say “the body remembers.” Somewhere in my mind, the intrusive sound of the soles of men’s sensible shoes slapping onto the shiny floors throughout the corridors still haunts me now and then. Sitting on a shelf labeled “incongruity,” the sudden thunder of racing footsteps filling the hushed, echoey hallways Read more