i pledge allegiance

The snow was melting

when you talked to me

when they talked to you

when we stood with them

and their thinning perfume

their black backpacks

their straightened hair

their plans of the ride home.

i have trusted

myself.

i have trusted

my body.

i have believed

it will not bite back

that it will not feel the roaring rush

of danger in what is safe.

i have thought

So many times you will see

someone on the street who you will never meet

again, and believe you could fall in love.

You will look back, and they will not be looking

at you.

A few times you will think