I always dreamed of being a star.

kept my skin soft and flawless.

bleached away every freckle,

But being good was never enough.

Just a small-town girl,

I was shelved like a white trash neighbor,

Embarrassing, toothless, and round.

But now people drive for miles

send secret messages about my arrival in distant cities,

desperate to find me down some aisle at the grocery store

like an old high school girlfriend suddenly single.

I am carried like a trophy, hugged like a lost child.

There are diseases that will take your breath away,

policemen that can snap your neck like a wishbone,

looters ready to burn down your house.

They may take down your statues

shut down your schools

erase your job like yesterday’s Special.

But I am stacked like a wall against the wave

an army of silent prayer warriors in every closet,

loved by every race and political party,

ready to roll.

Undo me

like a thousand white flags of surrender

Wiping it all away.