The Most Scared I've Been

a cloudy day, grey
black jeans, black shirts, black snapbacks backwards on our heads,
the only pop of colour: red,
the flannel my girlfriend is using as a (thin) jacket

a pole in between us,
I dodge to link our arms together, our feet falling into step along the path,
the only sound: laughter,
from who and why, I can’t quite remember, not after:

we are crossing the road,
zebra crossing: white, black, white, black, white — the stare of a man?
his whole family: three, four, five men? two women (one child)
he’s looked at us too long, stopped walking

I have locked eyes,
and I look at him a beat too long. my stomach has balled up, my hand is starting to shake
the only thing that is real: my girlfriend, trying to let me go
no, no, please don’t, I need you

in the shopping centre doors:
there is another man, disapproving looks, an elderly couple, a real estate agent manning a stall
the only noise: my heartbeat in my ears
I look to my girlfriend: visibly shaken, pulling me closer, using me as her safeguard
♠ ♠ ♠
[i]it's crazy. my surburb is quite lgbt friendly, and we were only half an hour up the road when we got these reactions