Dear Kristina, Your name is still tattooed on my left *** cheek. I remember how it curled your lips like the cursive script it's written it. You called me an idiot every time I made you look at it My mother said the same thing, except without the smile. I guess somebody should have explained to me the permanace of drunken whims or ****** friends who giggle too much, but **** it. And *******. I burned your birthday cards and ticket stubs to bands that haven't sounded good since October 25. I loved you. I threw away your black high school track team sweatshirt and those little ducky magnets with Italian words coming out of their beaks. I pretended they were funny just because I knew you felt lame buying them for yourself. But I'm still looking for pieces, thinking in circles, wasting hours trying to dream of anything but you. See you never, Michael
Dear Kristina, You spent a lot of time on your knees for me. I liked that. But we started falling apart when you started standing up. God gave us with voices that yell in permanant ink. I forget what straightened your knees and made you pick up a pen, but I do remember how tall you became. I admire you now. You learned far earlier than I that the hardest thing in the world is to stand up to those we love and I couldnt deal with change. You were a handful of quarters when I had holes in my pockets. Maybe I let you slip away but maybe I never should have put you there in the first place. It's safe to say I'm over you, so I feel safe saying I'm sorry. Sincerely, Michael
Dear Kristina, I lost your address a long time ago. This letter will never leave the spiral of this diary. I couldn't remember what you looked like today, and have forgotten most of the things you ever said but I still hold on to the things you taught me. I've worn a ring for many years now, and though my aging arms have long embraced another woman, and waved goodbye this year to a son standing on the steps of a college dormitory, your name is still tattooed on my left *** cheek: living, ******* proof that no matter how hard we scrub, the fingerprints of those that touch our souls can never be erased. Love, Michael