Ode to a Former Dorm Mate
You’re gone, never to be found
Gone with the blue ink of our era
on postcards we exchanged
Gone with the precision of your fingers
twirling your pasta
at this ridiculously expensive place we frequented
Was it fettuccine alfredo?
You’re gone, never to come around
Gone with all the women in cyber-sea
who have the same name as you but are not you
Not your lacquer black hair
large brown eyes like a Japanese anime character
The grace you exuded
without having to say a word
You’re gone, without a sound
Gone beyond our once cherished girlhood
Jackie Chou is a writer from Southern California who has two collections of poetry, The Sorceress and Finding My Heart in Love and Loss, published by cyberwit. Her poem “Formosa” was a finalist in the Stephen A DiBiase Poetry Prize. She has work forthcoming in Synchronized Chaos in August 2024.
