"she cares"

SHE: Poem 2 – “she cares”

she bumped into me in the hallway

my books went flying—

i braced for laughs

but she knelt down

and asked so softly, “you okay?”

her smile felt like sunlight

sneaking past clouds

my heart tripped

over its own surprise

i mumbled “i’m fine,”

though i barely knew

all afternoon i kept replaying

her voice —that gentle question

echoing in my head

did she mean it?

i don’t want just a guess—

maybe this time

i’m certain: she cares.

.

.