SHE: Poem 8 – “she doubts if i waited”

(circa ’85)

 

i sat by the mall’s neon fountain,

Walkman humming The Smiths,

mixtape cued for her arrival—

and she doubts if i waited.

 

i circled the pizza stall,

pepperoni grease on my thumb,

clock hands creeping

over the arcade— and

she doubts if i waited.

 

the quarter in my pocket buzzed,

primed for her Pac-Man high score,

food-court lights flickering in my eyes—

and she doubts if i waited.

 

my boombox heart skipped

every chorus screaming her name,

but her shadow slipped past me—

and she doubts if i waited.

 

 

 

 

.