Katie B.

Last

Kickball

I was always picked last

 

My shorts were too short

Inching up my inner thighs

 

I’d outgrown the pink tank top

And my belly hung like the moon

 

Captains took turns picking

I wasn’t selected

 

Alone as a Statuary

Eyes somber

 

The girls branded as the clique

Mocked me

 

Awkward, embarrassed

As if my clothes had fallen off

 

Being last was not a pick

But a forced entry

 

My teammates taunt

The tears, I swallow

 

Lip tight

Courage thrives in adversity