Audio: Read by the author.

How long have I been wed

to myself? Calling myself

darling, dressing for my own

pleasure, each morning

choosing perfume to turn

me on. How long have I been

alone in this house but not

alone? Married less

to the man than to the woman

silvering with the mirror.

I know the kind of wife

I need and I become her:

the one who will leave

this earth at the same instant

I do. I am my own bride,

lifting the veil to see

my face. Darling, I say,

I have waited for you all my life.