It took me years to
see that all I became
was made possible
because of Miss Travis.
I was headed to
jail or worse. I was bent
on destroying my
self, since destruction was
all I had learned to
do. But Miss Travis was
the only one in
all of godforsaken
Spoon River who gave
me reason to believe
I had a future.
Miss Travis, I never
told you how much I
was in love with you. For
years after I thought
of it as a silly
juvenile crush. It
was twenty years before
I saw that I was
measuring all of my
lovers against the
template of you. I wish
I could have told you,
consequences be damned.