American Girl

She grew up on the wrong side of town,

A dirty double-wide and bare spots where the grass

Refused to grow.

She was a plainly pretty girl with sad eyes,

A drunk father, a no-show mother, and

Her methed out brother who sometimes got

Too close.

Nobody in her family had left this town

Going on four generations-

But she was going to do better.

So she passed barking dogs and leering men,

Drug dealers and bench sleepers,

Cracks in the pavement and trash in the alleys,

Every morning on her walk to the

Broken down high school.

She faced down the gossip girls in the bathrooms who would

Giggle as she washed her hands, pointing out to each other her

Cheap white sneakers, her dollar-store earrings.

She suffered the boys in the hallways and in the

Back corners of the classrooms, who assumed that because

Her mother had been a whore that she must be too, whispering

Dirty things in her ear, grabbing her ass, rubbing against her

Every chance they got.

The tried to break her down, tried to make themselves feel better

By crushing her, and who could blame them?

She was an easy target.

But she still showed up each day because she knew

Knowledge was power.

She read about algebraic theories, European history, and ancient cultures,

Hamlet and The Scarlet Letter, business ethics, biology and chemistry.

She learned to read music.

She was smart, she was strong,

They would not keep her here; they would not hold her down.

She would escape.

It didn’t matter how deep down in the trailer park she came from,

Her brain and perseverance would be her ticket out.