Allegory of Falling In Love
Poetry notebook in my jittery hand, I vacillate
what if she finds it dull… obtuse…
beneath her... culturally insensitive?
What if she laughs at its pathos,
groans at its length,
smirks at its earnestness?
As I begin to falter, I ask myself
(denying all the aching echoes of indifference)
how much could it possibly hurt if she doesn't like it?
Could I ever forgive myself if I chicken out?
As my internal arguments fire torpedoes at each other,
she begins to walk away.
Incensed at my cowardice, I detect a gravitational pull
impelled by the bonfire of urgency
lit by a lightning bolt of past meltdowns
I take a step of infinite unknowingness, and clear my throat
"Hi, I'm in your writing class…
might I ask for a brief moment of your time?"
...silence.
She glances at my poem, then stares into my eyes -
stretched between two souls is an imaginary tightrope
leveling her balancing pole, she slowly smiles…
"I thought you'd never ask"
written 15 Mar 2022
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