Food Court

In the mall three teenage girls
are being harassed by a boy
who demands their age.

They shrug him off
but sit nearby
either naive or confident in their power.

The security guard carries authority in her garb
on her blond 90 pounds
but she isn't around.

The boy wears the uniform of alternativeness
the specified hair,
legislated clothes and
mandated attitude
to fit in as an outcast.

The girls act the roles of mature shoppers
experimenting with rituals of consumerism
with purses and shopping bags from the best stores.

The cheery music
clashes with channeled lives,
and I must go
the janitor is eyeing me suspiciously.

© 1999 John P. Nordin. Do not copy.