Growth (Page 4)

An empty, snow-covered, arctic winter landscape; a snowy desert field with a person walking away toward a blue sky at the horizon.

It’s winter again, it’s snowing outside, and my soul is as dry as my hands. A frozen wasteland, no less of a desert. My heart is parched like the sands.

[continue]. . .

Black, plastic letters spelling out "ASK MY PRONOUNS" on a reusable, wood-framed square sign, nestled on a wrinkled rainbow PRIDE flag.

I hope you will join me in this act of solidarity as I stand up for those who are being forced to assimilate with a societal construct that does not fit them or reflect their lived experience.

(377 words)

[continue]. . .

A plain gold wedding Ring sits upright between two curved pages in an open Bible. Back lighting creates a shadow in the shape of a heart, which extends into the crease.

The tilt of your head, the lilt in your voice, the look in your eyes, I don’t have a choice. The words that you say, the ones that you don’t, the volumes unspoken, it’s clear that you won’t.

[continue]. . .

A young girl, wearing jeans, a red shirt, tall boots, a winter hat with a pom-pom, and a black backpack, walks along a grass-covered ridge near a river at sunset.

Some of my ancestors crossed an ocean to live in a land they had never seen. Some lived out their entire lives in one place, never venturing outside of their village, never seeing an ocean.

[continue]
. . .

A man preparing to drive a white, painted finishing nail into a board with a hammer while his left hand supports the nail. A ladder, shop benches and tools are visible in the background.

In 1984, I decided to pierce my left ear. I did it myself with a bag of ice, a sterilized needle, and a bar of soap.

(492 words)

[read]
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