Their Voices Reach Out Into

I've Known You For Years. Everyone Says You Were Beautiful When You Were Young, But I Want To Tell You I Think You're More Beautiful Now Than Then. Rather Than Your Face As A Young Woman, I Prefer Your Face As It Is Now. Ravaged.

It Has Been My Face. It's Got Older Still, Or Course, But Less, Comparatively, Than It Would Otherwise Have Done. It's Scored With Deep, Dry Wrinkles, The Skin Is Cracked. But My Face Hasn't Collapsed, As Some With Fine Feature Have Done. It's Kept The Same Contours, But Its Substance Has Been Laid Waste. I Have A Face Laid Waste.

When A Woman Drinks It's As If An Animal Were Drinking, Or A Child. Alcoholism Is Scandalous In A Woman, And A Female Alcoholic Is Rare, A Serious Matter. It's A Slur On The Divine In Our Nature.

Even So You Have Managed To Live That Love In The Only Way Possible For You. Losing It Before It Happened.

He Says He’s Lonely, Horribly Lonely Because Of This Love He Feels For Her. She Says She’s Lonely Too. She Doesn’t Say Why.