The burned down mall
still stands. I heard
something like—
insurance, but as a girl
I wanted a beige troll
with hot pink hair.
I used to run down
the men’s department
lined with white
shirts so white you
could see the ghost
a head cold leaves.
Most things cost
money, books
especially.
Now that I’m in a car
driving past
trying to remember
if they had a food court.
I want to call my father
in traffic
and ask if it really
happened. Also I want to
raze the mall
to the unstable
ground, milk it
like it milked me.
Jasmine Nikki ‘Nikay’ C. Paredes was born and raised in Cebu, Philippines. She earned a BFA in Creative Writing from the Ateneo de Manila University and an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College. She is the author of the chapbook collection ‘WE WILL SEE THE SCATTER’ from dancing girl press.