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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Maggie Callahan




Jane Zemel


When I zip a dress up, I’m careful to hold my breath. Catching skin in zippers is painful business; the sudden pinch, then the blood rushing to the spot to embarrass you all over again.
This dress, though, frees up my legs. At any moment, I am certain that I could break into flight across lawns or down streets, the straps of my high heels looped over my fingers and my hair flying out behind me (curls bouncing, frizzing, and turning to waves). I am certain I would be free.

I do not hold my breath when I zip this dress. It fits like a glove, like a dream, like the hand I am meant to hold forever & always but have not yet found. The skirt moves and I remember the bit of perfume I sprayed behind my knees. The fragrance catches me again and again in flounces and folds. As I spin, I think of how no one will know this romantic habit of mine, how no one will share this delicious secret with me. But perhaps someday, it’ll bring a smile to my wrinkled face and I’ll run aged hands over this taffeta midnight dress that will, by then, have found a home in the back of a closet somewhere. Perhaps it will still hold a bit of its magic.

Until then, I keep spinning and breathing.

Maggie Callahan


Marina and the Diamonds - fan gif





Maggie Callahan used to be a lot of things. A devoted consumer of fashion and music, former college athlete, and mermaid enthusiast, Maggie is now pursuing a PhD in English Literature & Rhetoric, Writing & Culture at Louisiana State University. She named her dog after her favorite tea blend (Lady Grey), and has finally mastered riding her bicycle while holding a cup of espresso.  


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