The Girl hasn’t written anything in a long while-because, well-She has writer’s block. She thought perhaps that She had run out of things to say. That couldn’t be it, because it is not as if She ever shuts up. She thought perhaps that She had run out of important things to say. That couldn’t be it, because it is not as if She ever had anything important to say. At one time the Words couldn’t pour out of her quickly enough. Now it seems as if the well has dried up. Time to pray for rain.

Rather than write nothing She has decided to write anything. Starting at her toes:


Her feet ache. They always ache. Her right arch is non-existent. It leaves spatula shaped prints. She has waited diligently her entire life for her left arch to flatten out and catch up. It is this disparity in the arc of her step which causes the pain. She doesn’t even think about it most of the time.

Her left calf is twitching. The threat of a cramp somewhere deep in the muscle.

Her knees and thighs feel dewy and soft. She is fresh from a bath. Her skin tingles.

Her belly aches. Cramps. In addition to being THE Girl, she is also A girl, and sometimes it just bes that-a way.

Her breasts feel heavy for the same reason She has cramps. She considers this a small price to pay for the privilege of being a girl.


Her back itches. Its skin flying away like little dandelion seeds trying to take root in the rug. She and The Boy went to Egmont Key with Sy and Nova. She enjoyed herself so much that She failed to notice her back blush a shy pink. As She passed the hours floating in the sparkling aquamarine water of the Gulf, her back turned from embarrassed to angry. For a week it radiated a livid red. For one day it was a wonderful olive-brown. Then it dried up and blew away.

Her teeth feel clean. She just brushed them and her whole mouth is cool and mint-y fresh.

“If your eyes are the windows to your soul, does that make your ears the doorways?” She wonders. Bruce Springsteen comes in from the other room. His sad, graveled voice matches her mood.

Her face shines from being exfoliated. The Girl has never believed herself to be beautiful, but She knows She has beautiful skin. Trips to Egmont Key not withstanding, She tries to take care of it.

Her head is buzzing with lists. She needs to go shopping. She makes a list. She needs to clean up. She takes a mental inventory. She has errands to run. She prioritizes the tasks.

That is The Girl from head to toe.