Humanity: Raw & Unfiltered
Okay, picture this. It was years ago. I’m eighteen, skinny, it’s June, early on a Saturday morning, and it’s raining buckets. I’m standing on the corner at the bus stop, the intersection of Mill Road and Route 22, the hub of this suburban town. My umbrella is dark blue and Read more
Nothing. I know not one thing to be certain. Not one fucking thing rings true except the stories I share, and they are only my limited perception. – Jaqueline Cioffa Time is the mystery, the teaser, and the uncertain 4th dimension that cuts the heart muscle and bleeds blue. Red Read more
The first time it happened to me I was sitting in the back of a bus with two males on either side. I didn’t know their names. For a while, nothing happened. Just a ride on a bus. Then slowly, one of them slipped his arm around my shoulders and Read more
My housemates away for four months, I am sub-letting both their rooms. Matt comes to look around. A 3rd-year student and self-confessed “computer geek,” his hair in need of a tidy, he has a warm smile and is oh-so-uncomplicated. He mentions an acquaintance, Shaun is also looking for a room, Read more
During my routine OB appointment, my doctor mentioned that my nipple “looked a little funny.” I had noticed that too. She was fairly certain it was eczema but wondered aloud if I might be willing to have a dermatologist check it. As I had a mole on my neck I Read more
“My name is Precious, how can I help you?” “I think I need to go to your shelter,” I blurted. My daughters, still both in diapers, were wailing in the background. The battered women’s shelter. Never had I thought I would be a battered woman, or that I would live Read more
He brings me watermelon cubes in bed, in a kind act of sharing a favorite treat of his with me. I see him so clearly then for what he is: human, flawed, stormy, kind, beautiful, caring, and perfectly made for me. I notice the way I can’t look away from Read more
