Words by Cadence Chung (she/they)
I should have looked at the Turners for hours instead of a polite few minutes, eaten alive byall that burnished light. I should have abstained from coffee. I should have abstained from all worldly pleasures and remained a Romantic little virgin, nothing but my own lips to bite. I should have loved more and always more but there's only so many love letters a girl can take — until they're peeling from between your fingers, paper-pulp ruins. I should have polished my shoes so they didn't squeak. I should have kissed her, one last time, before I left.