Be Not Far from Me

by Mindy McGinnis

More than once in my life I’ve wished that I were a boy, and every one of those times was when I had to take a piss outdoors.

Shame burns over time, leaving behind a scar that puckers up and shines so that it can’t ever be quite forgotten.

There is something freeing in giving up and accepting that I am going to die out here. If the woods will have me, then first I will drink all it has to offer, a child once again, uncaring as to how I look or what others may think. I am utterly alone, untethered.