P.S. What is Tom Cruise Doing Right Now?
It’s a postscript I’ve been writing for decades
beneath my ‘love always’ & signature, the
wondering ribbon bow of last thought in
my journal entries – What is Tom Cruise
doing right now? It’s a nod to childhood
fantasy, a pan-flash of curiosity about a
different life path, a nostalgic air kiss to
the simplicity of a Hollywood crush but
the weighty truth is that a slice of me
really wants to know…is he sleeping,
hanging off the cliffs in dreamland?
Is he Bugatti braced, speeding down
a twisting highway carved into mountains?
Is he sipping matcha tea & staring out the
window of a humble cottage in some
tiny town…
Is he alone?
Is he happy?
Is he enough for himself
or does he have a postscript too…
a thick rope of braided what ifs
tethered to his lungs?
VANESSA SHIELDS, writer 