i stand looking at the mirror
looking at the shadow
cast by your reflection
i am waiting alone
the sun has stopped shining
yet there is still shadow
i don't understand the loneliness
that beckons from distant
street corners
a woman with cigarette
dangling from her rubied lips
asks me if i want to dance
i stumble across her feet
i don't smoke i say
she looks at me disdainfully
i wonder what treachery
i have crossed
i stand by the mirror
waiting for you
hoping to see your
reflection in my eyes
and all i get are blank stares
personas bewares
the phone does not ring
despite hopes of pregnant pauses
or relevant moments together
sharing coffeehouse eclairs
something sweet that
does not wither the soul
i wait feverishly by the mirror
hoping against hope you
will rescue my demise
from winsome strangers
wooing my heart
i wait for miracles to happen
seriously considering
converting to any religion
laying claim to my heart
my neck so weighed down
by crucifixes and stars and
trinkets from unnamed gods
can no longer lift my head
i kneel by the mirror
waiting slowly waiting
(c) 1998 lgjaffe