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’s writing has been published in over 100 literary magazines, including two Pushcart Prize nominations. She is the author of four poetry chapbooks, including Fairytales (Bottle Cap Press) and a forthcoming poetry collection. Her debut novel (Sky of Ashes, Land of Dreams) was published by Type Eighteen Books. X/Twitter: @erin_simmer