I watched the sheets breathe when she breathed, like how Dad used to say that trees inhale when people exhale, because I was too young to understand the truth about biological processes.

Do you have any coffee?'...'It stunts my growth, and I'm afraid of death.

Why didn't he say goodbye? I gave myself a bruise. Why didn't he say 'I love you'?

She extended a hand that I didn't know how to take, so I broke its fingers with my silence.

I got tired, I told him. Not worn out, but worn through. Like one of those wives who wakes up one morning and says I can't bake any more bread.

It might sound naive to suggest that whether you order a chicken patty or a veggie burger is a profoundly important decision. Then again, it certainly would have sounded fantastic if in the 1950's you were told that where you sat in a restaurant or on a bus could begin to uproot racism.

I don't mind if smiles come at my expense, I'm a small price to pay.