Amy Patterson

“When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it.”
― Caitlyn Siehl, Literary Sexts: A Collection of Short & Sexy Love Poems

“It ends or it doesn't.
That’s what you say. That’s
how you get through it.
The tunnel, the night,
the pain, the love.
It ends or it doesn't.
If the sun never comes up,
you find a way to live
without it.
If they don’t come back,
you sleep in the middle of the bed,
learn how to make enough coffee
for yourself alone.

Adapt. Adjust.
It ends or it doesn't.
It ends or it doesn't.
We do not perish.”
― Caitlyn Siehl

“I am still learning how to ask
the important questions, like
“Do you want children?” or
“How do you take your coffee?”
so I'm sorry if I stare at your mouth and ask you if you've ever swallowed a dandelion seed, instead.”
― Caitlyn Siehl

“When your little girl asks you if she's pretty,
your heart will drop like a wineglass on the hardwood floor.
Part of you will want to say
“Of course you are, don't ever question it,”
and the other part, the part that is clawing at you,
will want to grab her by her shoulders,
look straight into the wells of her eyes
until they echo back to you and say
“You do not have to be if you don't want to. It is not your job.”
Both will feel right.
One will feel better.
She will only understand the first.
When she wants to cut her hair off
or wear her brother's clothes,
you will feel the words in your mouth like marbles.
“You do not have to be pretty if you don't want to.
It is not your job.”
― Caitlyn Siehl, What We Buried