"and now it's my fault"

SHE: Poem 7 – “and now it’s my fault” (circa ’85)

she slams the locker door

when i pass by

and now it’s my fault.

she replays her mixtape note

with a frown

and now it’s my fault.

she spins her neon bracelet

off my wrist and

now it’s my fault.

she hides behind

the bleachers’ shadows and

now it’s my fault.

she glares at my Rubik’s Cube

in mid-scramble and

now it’s my fault.

she stomps away

from the arcade’s glow and

now it’s my fault.

but i swear to the boombox

at full blast— i didn’t

break her heart, and yet,

it’s still my fault.

.