By Erin Jamieson
I slip into a silk dress
$5 tag itching my back
but appearances count
because your mom still can’t
accept me or rather
us
A bistro selling goat cheese paninis
& overpriced iced coffee- nothing we could
afford, which is how your mom guilts us
into coming
“Are you both planning on wearing dresses?” she asks
sipping bitter tea. “How does this work?”
As if we are not a couple, but an experiment
I excuse myself, wipe my makeup until mascara
streaks down my cheeks, until that dress
is wrinkled as the skin of a sea lion
until I am everything I promised not to be:
unpresentable, attention grabbing, whatever
bullshit your mom says
Erin Jamieson (she/her) holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Miami University. Her writing has been published in over eighty literary magazines, including a Pushcart Prize nomination. She is the author of a poetry collection (Clothesline, NiftyLit, Feb 2023). Twitter: @erin_simmer
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Paweł Grajnert is a writer and filmmaker working in Poland and the US.