"When we worked together at his father’s diner, Tom drove an old minivan; green body with red doors. He would crank the window down and idle outside my front door. He wore a blue bandana rolled up and across his forehead..."

Bloom

"The weight in my stomach doesn’t scare me. I always thought I would be afraid of giving birth. Most expectant mothers I have known feel impatient in their third trimester. They are eager for the last few weeks to end."

Carrying

"We meet when we are five. Eve wears her black hair short, pixie cut and rhinestone earrings. I find out in years to come that she only has hair this short because of the surgery. It is easier for them to cut her hair than to let it grow back uneven"

Paroxysm

"In the parking lot, I forget that there are other humans on Earth; aware only of my boots in the gravel"

Next of Kin

"I am seven and my bedroom window overlooks the yellowing grass of our backyard. I am sitting on the sill between the double-glazed pane and the veil of a net curtain that smells lemon-fresh like furniture polish. I am watching my mother smoke."

Thank You For Noticing

"I had cut my hair short to see if I’d feel different or beautiful or special. I felt tired and messy and my head hurt. At first, it had been hard to imagine that someday soon there would come a day that I’d forget to think about K—."

Rebecca Jensen

Selected work