When her large middle eastern family moved to our prairie town of 500 people, they pretty much stuck together. She was an odd little girl which had intrigued me, but caused the other girls to pretty much shun her.
From the first grade onward, in the classroom or any public gathering, I’d get that itchy feeling that no amount of scratching could dispel and when I turned around, I’d see her staring at me. It caused me to go blank during spelling bees, to miss free throws, to stammer during wedding vows; but any efforts to befriend her and discover what she was thinking when she stared like that never succeeded.
Yesterday, 50 years after we graduated from high school, I read on the local Facebook site that she had passed away. I pray to God that she may lie forever with unopened eye.
- The assignment from dVerse Poets Pub was “Write a piece of Prosery of up to or exactly 144 words, including the given lines in the order in which they have been given. You may add or change punctuation, but you may not add or delete words.”
The given lines were:
I pray to God that she may lie
Forever with unopened eye
