Lisa Selin Davis

And then he said, I knew I really liked you when I saw you on your bike with the work boots and hard hat.

And then he said, I knew I really liked you when I saw you on your bike with the work boots and hard hat.

My teeth hit his and my mouth was open too much and it was messy and delicious and terrifying. And then we fell into a rhythm. I kissed him for the entire B-side of REM's reckoning. I kissed him so much, I went home that night with red, swollen lips. I don't think I ever experienced a physical sensation better than that burn. It seemed to wipe clean the dirty slate of my childhood.

My teeth hit his and my mouth was open too much and it was messy and delicious and terrifying. And then we fell into a rhythm. I kissed him for the entire B-side of REM's reckoning. I kissed him so much, I went home that night with red, swollen lips. I don't think I ever experienced a physical sensation better than that burn. It seemed to wipe clean the dirty slate of my childhood.

I lost track of him years ago. I don't know where he lives or what he does. I don't know him digitally. I think of him only in analog. All that love twisted up with my records, which long ago warped and mildewed in my mother's basement. But the lesson from I'll Be Your Mirror remained. That someone can love me for what shames me the most. Now... I sing those same lyrics to my daughter before bed.

I lost track of him years ago. I don't know where he lives or what he does. I don't know him digitally. I think of him only in analog. All that love twisted up with my records, which long ago warped and mildewed in my mother's basement. But the lesson from I'll Be Your Mirror remained. That someone can love me for what shames me the most. Now... I sing those same lyrics to my daughter before bed.

The conservation job ended late that August. My soul or my depression or anger management problems hadn't been repaired by it. I hadn't learned about hard work or resilience or any of the other things the program was designed to teach me. But I was healed, just as that love song promised.

The conservation job ended late that August. My soul or my depression or anger management problems hadn't been repaired by it. I hadn't learned about hard work or resilience or any of the other things the program was designed to teach me. But I was healed, just as that love song promised.