“In Stars Hollow, All Is Well” by Diane Elayne Dees

I have no idea why I waited twenty years

to watch Gilmore Girls, I only know

that now, locked down by a virus,

and locked in by my own life changes,

it is saving me. In the one small room

in my psyche that remains uncluttered

by memories, regrets and contingencies,

I am in Luke’s Diner, drinking coffee,

eating pancakes, and trying to catch

Luke’s eye. I am inside the gazebo,

waving at eccentric people who love me.

I am a guest at the Dragonfly Inn,

bantering with Michel. I am fast-talking

with Lorelai and Rory, living a dream—

a dream of words as arrows,

words as meteor showers, words as drugs.

I can shed a tear about something I know

will turn out all right—a kind of crying

that is so distant in my memory.

Most of all, I can laugh and I can marvel,

while inside me and outside me,

so much has been crushed by despair,

destroyed by neglect, warped by trauma.

That is our life, but for a little while,

I can go to Stars Hollow, where all is well.