"Ethan" - The Young Botanist - thank you for planting the seeds. You taught me that being oneself is an act of joy, and that fashion is the shining armor in which we face the monsters of everyday life. Slay. 

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The Beekeeper - You named me after your favorite author. Introduced me to beehives. Thunderstorms. Roadrunners. Spring training ballgames in orangeblossom desert heat. We drank Dr. Pepper as the pickup truck rolled through the sage & mesquite of Levelland. If I am a writer, then it is your fault.

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The bees, especially Persephone colony in the Treestump Hive - when I gaze into the thrumming dark of you, I can see the past and the future as a spiral. I will not remove you from your context. I will care for you the way you care for soil, for deer, for marigolds.

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And most especially, Mitchell. When we snorkeled, I watched you plunge into the water as the tourguide chummed the baitcage & the dark shapes glided towards the boat like knives but you just grinned at me the way you do & so I jumped.

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