Jessica Down

Our Ugly Dress

She was wearing a dress I used to have.

The dress was hideous;

it made us look skeletal and misshapen.

It was one piece of blue-plaid-fabric, with a blue-plaid-tie around it.

I watched our dress, and saw how it contorted our bodies in the same way.

I thought about how it looks better on me,

even though it looks good on no one.

I sat down when suddenly I felt nostalgic for the Southcenter Mall.

I used to go there in ugly dresses,

 holding hands with a man who would tell me that they’re not,

and we would see empty movies.

I suppose that’s how he was, too.

And that’s how that dress made me feel.

I saw her walk out of the room in our ugly dress,

the one that looks better on me,

and grasp the hand of a man who probably tells her that it’s not.

But it is an ugly fucking dress

Jessica Down is a writer from Seattle, Washington. She graduated from The Evergreen State College. Her work has been previously published by Bewildering Stories and The League for Innovation.