Room 203 Poem by Theresa Haffner

I woke in the black of night
In the Universe Hotel, Room 203.

I didn’t know where I was
Or who I was supposed to be.

I wandered the city streets alone
In the seamier parts of town.

I realized that I had no one to love,
That there was no one who loved me.

These city streets had sold me out.
Sold me cheap. Sold me easy.

Back in the Universe Hotel, Room 203,
The flashing neon sign outside my window.

The empty hallways, deserted doorways,
And a man I did not know.

Might have been a black man
-probably so—
Who made me feel not so alone.