This is an important detail

This is a forest fire

This is a condo gym

This is fascism

This is an art opening

This is my mother’s fear of elevators

This is laminate flooring

This is a stain on the wallpaper

This is a cupboard without a door

This is a basement apartment

This is how we made ends meet

This is the corner store

This is a can of evaporated milk

This is the ice storm

This is Satan

This is the letter ‘A’ in Times New Roman

This is a run in the stocking

This is Grade 4

This is recess

This is a recession

This is what’s left

This is a raccoon named Debbie

This is the tide going out

This is the edge of the wilderness

This is my mother crying

This is her ghost

This is a baby who looks like an old man

This is my wedding

This is an optical illusion

This is the Pacific Ocean

This is a conference on queer theory

This is a nipple

This is the fifteenth century

This is cloud coverage

This is a macaron

This is a virulent strain of smallpox

This is the smell of my mother lingering in a closet

This is the year that came after

This is a song by Joni Mitchell

This is slapstick

This is a fresh coat of paint

This is a paper cut

This is the mirror after a hot shower

This is a brunch date

This is a confession

This is some unwarranted recognition

This is a bungalow

This is the colour yellow

This is a bully

This is an ice rink

This is Abraham and Isaac

This is the last sentence in a long book

This is an old sofa on the sidewalk

This is the reason

This is a dinner with friends

This is the second miscarriage

This is Grade 9

This is bad taxidermy

This is the boy who went missing

This is a spent bullet casing

This is a last-minute request

This is food poisoning

This is a passport application

This is a line in the sand

This is a piece of gum stuck to your shoe

This is a small baggie of drugs smuggled in a rectum

This is an old laptop in the closet

This is the equator

This is a sperm whale

This is a clue

This is the Cuban Missile Crisis

This is my birthmark

This is a sacrifice

This is Billie Holiday

This is the number eight

This is a fraction of the love I have to give

This is a demolition derby

This is a carton of milk

This is a slice of pizza

This is a joyride

This is a weak WiFi signal

This is a blunt object

This is an overly air-conditioned room

This is feminism

This is just a suggestion

This is where the horses go

This is a shipping crate of elephant tusks

This is a moment of respite

This is a place