Ivy Grimes
I’ve never bought flowers to give at a party or to place at my own table’s center as a symbol of the hopeful impermanence of my domestic ways, but maybe I should! Maybe I should be a bright one, coat always lint-rolled, delighted at invitations, smiling when she crosses every threshold. Maybe I should attend more weddings. Maybe I should love whatever flower is from farthest away. Maybe I should love more. But I can’t help it—I want to give you fifty balloons attached to strings instead of ribbons. I want to watch you float above every town until you find one you really like. I want you to be happy, but I want you to be happy over there.
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Ivy Grimes has an MFA from the University of Alabama and currently lives near DC. Her writing has appeared in FRiGG, Salt Hill, South Dakota Review, DIAGRAM, Weave, and elsewhere.