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The Yearbook of the Mind
Gabriella Brand

Be honest

The best kissing happened in high school and lasted the length of a
corridor,

skipping math class or glee club to slide onto

the back seat of a Chevy Malibu,

or, with difficulty, into the bucket seats of a borrowed Corvette.

I’m talking about

the kisses that sloshed over onto the dashboard, covered the

windshield with condensation so thick you could drink it like

raspberry seltzer.

The kisses that rooted around your mouth like a pig looking for

truffles.

The kisses that tasted of Oreos or Marlboros or grilled cheese

sandwiches from the school cafeteria.

The kisses that vacuum-packed your belly,

that sucked the air out of your lungs.

The kisses you

stashed between the pages of that yearbook we all

carry around in our heads.

Those kisses.

—
Gabriella Brand’s poetry, short stories, and Creative Non-Fiction have appeared in over fifty publications, including Comstock Review, Room, and Aji. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her essays appear in The Christian Science Monitor and The Globe and Mail. Gabriella loves travel, languages, kayaking, hiking, and hanging out with children. She teaches languages and writing in the OLLI program at the University of Connecticut.

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