​New Kid

Mandy was her name
new kid
5th grade home room
big deal for a small school
same color hair as me
purple dress with a ribbon
I wanted to be her friend
she wore the dress the next day
and the following day
I didn’t want to be her friend anymore
purple dress that smelled like
the school trash bin
half empty milk cartons
rotten in the afternoon sun
snot etched map of dirt on her face
never washed away
we walked a wide circle around her
mean kids held their noses
I held my nose
one day the school nurse came for her
returned her in clothes mismatched
from the pile of shame
cast-offs kept
for kids who pee themselves
too big for her
everybody laughed
a shame worse than rotten milk
 
grown ups explained her family
had no running water
sympathy not understood
convinced us further
she was unworthy
halfway through the semester
she was gone
I didn’t miss her
until now
 
........................................
first published The Germ, Fall 2013