Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Legacy of a Mean Girl

She was a mean girl, full of bitter, angry,
I'm-not-even-going-to-bother-talking-behind-your-back,
Bold meanness.

"Whacha lookin' at, B? You gotta problem?
Maybe I oughta come over and pound your ugly face.
Doubt it can get any uglier."

I never heard her laugh
Unless it was at someone,
Drawing attention to out-of-style jeans,
Hair that refused to lay flat,
New glasses, or a flake of dry skin on someone's nose.
An innocent flake, instantly deemed a booger--
A booger that by the end of the day,
Everyone would know about.

Her voice was siren-red,
Offering  fair warning
But never allowing escape.
Its shrill, ear-bending reverberations 
Captivated bystanders, who couldn't help but be drawn  in
By the carnage left behind in her critical wake.

I often wondered how someone could be so full of
Hate-filled, over-the-top, animal-sneering meanness...

Then, one day, while in the office
Getting a Tylenol,
I overheard her mother talking at to
Mrs. Carter, the nicest secretary
God ever placed behind a desk.

After that day, I have never again wondered how
Hate-filled, over-the-top, animal-sneering
Mean girls are created.

2 comments:

Emily Richards said...

And that's how I remind myself that although I can't control everything my daughter says or does, I do have a lot to do with whether she turns out to be a mean girl. It gives me more reason to be nice to people! (not that I should need more reason than "cause it's the right thing to do" but...ya know)

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