A short, short story.

The magnetic bumper sticker on the back of my mini-van sums up my life perfectly—I used to be cool. Before the onset of middle-aged spread, stretch marks and deflated breasts. Before, I found a need for clinical deodorant, feminine powder, and triple-blade razors.

In the quiet stillness, your spirit remains,

A beacon of love that eases our pain …

The United States has never rectified its past. Therefore, it can’t move forward. Since its inception, when colonizers embarked on this land to kill, maim, destroy, and confiscate land that was never theirs, they sold us a fallacy of equality equivalent to snake oil.

Every time with you is like the first time.

For hours, I lay with you, touching your skin,

Loving the feel of your warmth against mine.

Please allow me to be vulnerable for a minute.

I am a fiercely independent woman and a hard-headed one. (I get my headedness from my father.) This combination has served me well throughout most of my life. If something needs to be done, I figure out how to make it work and plan accordingly. Life has dealt me so many blows that I’ve had no choice. My faith and my stubbornness have sustained me. (I get my stubbornness from my mother.) But 2024 raged relentless assaults on me - a job loss, aging parents, family fights, financial woes, being friend-zoned, and losing too many so-called friends to count. It was during these times that I leaned on my faith the most.

I believe words have the power to shape the world. In fact, I have “The Truths is Mightier Than the Sword” tattooed on my wrist. Books have the insane ability to transcend boundaries, connect diverse voices, and foster empathy. In this landscape, the voices of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) authors are essential, especially as they try to silence us and erase the history that has taken us so long to unearth.