Goodwill Dress

Sometimes I still see myself in that Dress:

A girl pretending to be a grown up,

Waiting to make a first impression

That I knew had to help me pass the test.

I answered all your questions-

And apparently did quite well at that.

I inquired of your opinions

Awed by the opportunity

To hide my inadequacies and put my fears to rest.

But despite all the formalities,

The significance of that moment

I didn’t know would open so many future doors,

I don’t remember a damn thing

About what you asked or what I said–

About how I got swept up and pulled ahead.

All that vividly stays despite years pulling me away

Is a question on the stock market

(Which you curtly told me you invested in)

And an inhale knowing I was now in a world over my head.

…And I still remember that scan up and down my body;

A summing of my appearance- my being- in a second or less

And whether it was enough…

I still see you inspect me

As I stand in that simple Goodwill Dress.

–Written by Sandy Heights

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