They Missed My PhD Graduation—So I Used The Empty Seats To Tell The Truth

in a vast empty space, bouncing off hollow, unoccupied chairs that stretched infinitely in all directions.

Graduation morning began with light and silence in equal measure.

The light came first, thin and watery through the slats of my blinds, the kind of uncertain spring light that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be warm or cold. Then the silence sank continue reading …