By Valerie Tseng
“I love your earrings!”
“They’re my roommate’s!” I say proudly,
And I know that to them
all these earrings
Are just
Golden stars dangling from my ears
Copper pearls sparkling through my hair
They do not know that the real star
That the real sparkle
Is my roommate, Emma.
My roommate Emma and her clothes
My roommate Emma is bursting with life.
Our closet sees it all.
Her flowy floral dresses-
Big pink flowers and delicate blue daisies paint pictures
On her dresses of
Picnics in the sunny Quint
And a Sunday in the chapel with
A thousand of our sisters
Her summery dresses-
They are carefree, like she is,
They remind me of
Her throaty laughter, floating through our open window.
Her cozy comfort collection
Oversized hoodies, declaring her love of
East Coast beach-towns
Well-worn sweatshirts, a display of her passion of
Swimming and crew and Wellesley College
They remind me of
Warm hugs when we cross paths
Of the Carhartt beanies on her head
When she wakes before the sun to row on the Charles
She is a hoodie in human form, comfort in a foreign home.
She is her red fuzzy jacket on a cold autumn night.
Her plaid print dresses and striped sweaters,
Porcupine socks, chunky cardigans,
Spill the story of a girl in love with
her life, and her big, big, earrings.
“I love your earrings!”
Oh I wish they could see
How the polka dot patterns dance with the plaid
And the summery dresses spin storms
With the slouchy soft sweaters
Instead they only see these earrings earrings earrings
But I wish they knew:
They are my roommate Emma’s,
And she is bursting with light.
And our closet is full of clothes
That tell the stories of
Her well-lived life.