She finally showed me the tattoo
the one she’d said
I needed to wait
to see
until she was sure I was "the one."

Now she’s sure
so now I’ve seen it
and now
I question
everything.

It says "I love you,"
which is so like her:
open
honest
caring for the world around her.
It is an invitation
that I wonder
who has accepted.

She needed to make sure
I deserved to see these open words
on her stomach
which could be visible at any lifeguard station
on Coney Island.

That tattoo could have been read
by all her friends
in her mid-riff bare days
or even in her bedroom
being petted by the boys on the block.

Who has read her tattoo.
Who has understood this exclamation?
Who has been loved already
by Susie?

She loves me.
Her body tells me so.
Now I must answer
if I love her not.