Cleveland Wall (Bethlehem, Pa, USA): "Midge"

Because what’s the fun of being Barbie
without the plain friend? You can take her
shopping, make her look pretty but not
as pretty as you— never as pretty
as you— and that’s the beauty of it!
Barbie’s wholesome freckled friend
does not resemble a gnat in that
she serves a vital purpose in the game:
the beta foil that makes the alpha
shine the brighter. She may content
herself with the occasional dig about
intellect or bleach, whether or not
she’s any smarter or less prone
to artifice. What of it? A silvery laugh,
a toss of the long hair and the whiff
of rancor is gone, leaving just
the faintest smudge on the windscreen
of a fast pink convertible.

© Cleveland Wall 2021

originally published in Monday Journal Issue #2