Jeanne

Jeanne is my best friend. She lives in West Philadelphia with friends Zak and Nikki. They all like to ride bicycles. Jeanne has a cat named Fig. And one time a squirrel ate some of her cookies... he just came in the window and ate some of her cookies and then left. She doesn't hold this action against all squirrels, and if anything is true, she loves animals and gives points for furriness and cuteness, but you wouldn't expect it. You wouldn't be surprised if I told you Jeanne has a reusuable mummy costume and that she collects dead things and puts them in jars. For this photograph she is posing with a glass eye she has in her mouth. Jeanne likes to paint and make prints of things. That shirt you saw me wearing, yeah, the one you thought was really pretty with the embroidery, Yeah, she made that. Despite glaring occasionally and wearing a pretty consistent wardrobe of black, Jeanne is the most pleasant person I've ever met. She'd make you laugh and tell you about zombie boners. I need Jeanne in my life to tell me when I need a haircut or that I'm dressing like an old woman. Jeanne and I have been best friends for more than half of our lives. Here is a poem I wrote about her once:

Chinatown


Oh Jeanne, in some number of years
There is no doubt that we will forget
How we walked down that curved street in Chinatown
Past the fake jade earrings, misprinted t-shirts
and array of counterfeit designer handbags
To that restaurant that had, what seemed to be,
Four individual and completely unrelated names on the awning.

And, Jeanne, in the future it might be difficult to recall
That man beside us to the left who ordered
His dumplings in Spanish. And the man to our right
Who compulsively lined up his change into perfect rows.
Truth be told – I already forget what it is that we talked about
While we scooped our rice, letting a few grains slip between our chopsticks.

Let us never forget, however, that our conversations
Run over each other’s and delightfully cascade
Into new understandings about world and self,
That our adventures inspire us,
That our laughter together is both infectious and healing,
And, also that that jerk never brought your water.