“Shelter me from the powder and the fingerCover me with the thought that pulled the triggerThink of me as one you'd never figuredWould fade away so youngWith so much left undoneRemember me to my love,I know I'll miss her.”

“He pulled me closer. kneeling in front of me,he kissed me intensely and i felt right. Morning and evening slipped away. it was just us. Silence surrounded us. My heart leapt and i kiss him back, knowing so truly that i loved him. My heart cried and I pulled away, knowing so truly that he had betrayed me.”

“To miss her each time I pull in a breath of air. To miss her with a heart that feels so cold by itself, but warm when thoughts of her flow through me.”

“He looks out into the empty street, allowing me to sit in his car and just miss her. To miss her each time I pull in a breath of air. To miss her with a heart that feels so cold by itself, but warm when thoughts of her flow through me.”

“Are you worried you'd miss me if I left?”

“Francie is smart, she thought. She must go to high school and maybe beyond that. She's a learner and she'll be somebody someday. But when she's educated, she will grow away from me. Why, she's growing away from me now. She does not love me the way the boy loves me. I feel her turn away from me. She does not understand me. All she understands is that I don't understand her. Maybe when she gets education, she will be ashamed of me - the way I talk. But she will have too much character to show it. Instead she will try to make me different. She will come to see me and try to make me live in a better way and I will be mean to her because I'll know she's above me. She will figure out too much about things as she grows older; she'll get to know too much for her own happiness.”