The China dolls posed on the gaudy lit stage,
Waiting their turn to perform.
Their colorful skirts whirled mechanically round
In time with their will to conform.
Sue recognized some from her old high school days
And remembered some pain and resentment.
She’d never quite captured the art of disguise
And had always messed up on her entrance.
She then turned around in that torn cushioned seat
And she noticed the real play behind her.
A China fraternity party had formed
And the laughter had set her heart pounding.
Then one doll came down from that old wooden stage.
Sue knew she was headin’ her way.
“Do you belong here?” the cheerleader asked.
Sue didn’t know quite what to say.
Her small talk, she’d never perfected.
Her clothing was not quite in style.
She pushed her way passed their glaring eyed dance
And longed for the black, starlit mile
Away from unbreakable dolls of perfection.
So tired of the mind-numbing chatter
For all that she was, was never enough
And all that she felt didn’t matter.
Jody Walker