What Better Gift

Prose Poem by Dee Allen

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Each suburb has one
 
Thin, dark-clad,
Sad-faced Baby Bat*
 
Driven to high school
In a silver Toyota Camry,
Dropped off,
Petite shadow
Drifted past 
Scornful teen-agers,
Girls' tongues wag,
Diss and slag,
Boys stare puzzled at her
 
Class scapegoat
Bullied with a tossed toad
Landing upon a notebook on
A desk with exquisite pen drawings,
Backed with loud laughter

School outcast
Confined to the bench
Alone and sitting,
Face and spirit downcast
Whilst children in white
Athletic outfits and sneakers
Frolicked through the gym
Bouncing a white rubber ball
Phys. Ed. routine
Then mass dispersal
When the wall bell rang, deserted

Social leper
Lone silhouette
Drifted past
Scornful teens again, unseen,
Left school for the bus stop,
City bus sped, refusing to cease
For one potential passenger
 
Local leper
Forced to walk
A street of fears--
Car doors locked on sight,
Poodles on leashes
Walked by senior couple
Suddenly barked out their rage,
School crossing guard
Raised her STOP sign--
STOP being scary--
Small girl at playground screamed,
Hid small face in both hands,
Women's faces registered
An identical fright,
Countless birds flee
From tops of trees
And telephone wires,
Flower garden-tending
Neighbour in straw hat and gloves
Cast evil eyes 
At her approach--
 
It was a hellish day
Of ostracism and misfortune
Until the return home--
 
What better gift
 
For a thin, dark-clad,
Sad-faced Baby Bat
 
To have
 
Than a parent
Willing to go
Painting wrought iron fence,
Stone walkway and
The entire house black to support
His own daughter's 
Pursuit of happiness
Through the Gothic life.
 
Faint sign of
A smile of
Appreciation shown
At the right time.

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W: 10.9.22 [ Inspired by a 2017 television advert for the German hardware shop Hornbach. ] *A beginner in the Gothic subculture, usually between ages 13 to 19.

Dee Allen is an African-Italian performance poet based in Oakland, California. Active on creative writing & Spoken Word since the early 1990s. Author of 7 books and 67 anthology appearances. Currently seeking a new publisher. You can view more of his work at deeallen