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Dim Sum in New York City (Poem)

Dim Sum in New York City Egg custard buns,pushed around on steelDim Sum cartslike yellow centered wombs. The soft dough jiggles,slides against the raw crust,until it almost breaks,as the cart turns cornersaround the dining room. In front of me,a small plate with a pale white orb,soft and sticky. It moves like a blob of fat… Continue reading Dim Sum in New York City (Poem)

Signs You’re Going Through IVF (Updated)

Your bookshelf that once held poetry anthologies, novels, and non-fiction essays, are now consumed by books about fertility diets, infertility memoirs, and how to navigate IVF while staying somewhat sane. Music. You are an emotional mess some days, so you avoid any song by J.S. Ondara, Bob Seger, Brandi Carlile, Lord Huron, The Commonheart, First… Continue reading Signs You’re Going Through IVF (Updated)

Actually, Robert Frost, I Prefer the Well Traveled Road

The nurse called Sunday afternoon to give us results from the tests earlier in the morning. “Unfortunately, your uterine lining is still too thin, and the doctor would like to cancel the cycle for this month. I’m so, so sorry.” January 19. The date we were supposed to transfer our embryo, would now be just… Continue reading Actually, Robert Frost, I Prefer the Well Traveled Road

January 19, 2022

I write every appointment, injection, test, and procedure on my calendar, without a second thought. Today, after over a month of knowing the date of our embryo transfer, I still can’t seem to write the words down. Instead, the date swirls in my thoughts, almost like a far off finale. Something in the near future.… Continue reading January 19, 2022

The Candy Aisle

When I was around five or six, I wanted a piece of candy from the drugstore. The only thing standing in my way of getting that piece of chocolate, was my grandfather. So, like every other spoiled but adorable child who doesn’t yet understand the concept of gratitude, I immediately kicked my sweet grandfather in… Continue reading The Candy Aisle

Untitled (2019)

Let’s talk about words. The ones we say to each otherand ourselves. The self-talk of: You can’t be taken seriously as a person or an artist. Look at your apartment, the dust on the walls, the onion skin on the kitchen floor, the pile of clothes on your grandmother’s chair. Let’s talk about a well-lived… Continue reading Untitled (2019)

A Community in Waiting

When we lived in the small town of Black Mountain, North Carolina, I had a favorite coffee shop that I visited regularly. It’s still my favorite roastery and coffee, except now, instead of it being down the street from our home, it’s about eight hours away. I worked in the same sweet town that I… Continue reading A Community in Waiting

You Get What You Give?

On my route to acupuncture, there is a home that likes to display wooden signs of inspiration and encouragement. When I pass the house, I usually read the sign and smile. Today, I wanted to stop my car, walk up to the cute sign, displayed on a small wooden bench, and stomp all over it.… Continue reading You Get What You Give?

One Egg, One Basket

I was in line to get a smoothie when my phone rang. This is how every scene begins, right? Disheveled woman with messy hair, waiting in line for her green smoothie, in the midst of Midwestern suburbia, about to find out the status of two embryos. My partner and I were apart from each other… Continue reading One Egg, One Basket

Tell Me Again How Babies Are Made

The clock read 2:55, five minutes before the dismissal bell would ring. As we lined up by the classroom door, my fifth-grade teacher passed us each a small permission slip to take home to our parents. Before my teacher even handed me the slip, I knew what it was for, and I couldn’t wait. Our… Continue reading Tell Me Again How Babies Are Made