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.
.