"The Bridesmaids Speech" by Kate Baer

I have known her all her life.
And by that I mean I’ve seen her
in the impossible light of girlhood.
The spaces in between—the car
on the way to the birthday dinner,
the moment before the photograph.
I have stood outside the bathroom stall,
held tight while her shoulders shook
with sorrow. I’ve watched joy arrive,
midnight and unexpected, repeated
stories until they were my own. It’s
true there is a cost to this devotion— 
but I’ll let you in on a little secret:
there is very little women choose
to keep from one another. How
lucky are we to know a love like this.

—Kate Baer