Random thoughts for Valentine’s Day 2022:

Despite this day being a holiday invented by

greeting-card companies,

it’ll be a good day.

I’ll ditch work,

take my car to somewhere

the girls on Grindr outnumber

the chasers.

Where I’ll meet someone 

new, ask them to marry me,

and we’ll talk about the slugs

and their trails on the rocks.

She’ll be laying out, on the grass

and I’ll just stare and 

admire the casted shadow the setting sun

lays onto the individual blades.

We’ll talk about moving out of

here, wondering the logistics,

and discuss the ways in which

we’ll wane and wax.

Like, growing older and 

having boobs sag with

the nipples untouched by 

our children’s lips.

Or, growing older and

laying onto the grass,

with the slugs, and feeding

them, as one last gift.

Sappho Stanley is a transsexual woman (she/her) and Senior at East Tennessee State University. She is working on her English undergraduate degree as well as two minors in Creative Writing andWomen, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Currently, she lives in Mount Carmel, Tennessee with her cat Kevin. You can find her Instagram and Twitter accounts @sapphostanley