ginny laughs like a
violin
soft and quick
sounding pretty

ginny tells me she believes in
love
at first sight
in fairy tales and chivalry
in princesses rescued by their
knights in shining armor
and she’s waiting for
her prince with his white horse
to chase her down
and run away with her

but i’m not sure
if i could ever believe in
love
the way ginny does

ginny tells me she believes in
destiny
in destiny and in fate
in the stars all aligning
that makes people fall in love
and all things happen
for a reason
and in karma
in people’s actions
coming back to them

and i hope she’s right

ginny tells me she believes in
people
in miracles and people that
do good things
just out of the kindness
of their hearts

but i look around and see
they pick on ginny
they call her fat
they say she’s not pretty
they pick her apart
so i can’t agree with her

especially when
ginny tells me that
she isn’t pretty
with her big brown eyes
long lashes
straight brown hair
and her breasts the size
some girls wish for

my brown eyes are small
my brown hair frizzes
curls flopping everywhere
and my little boobies
stick out a little

but i know that
i’m still pretty
and so is ginny

ginny tells me she believes in
heaven
in god up in heaven
with the angels and jesus

she tells me that god forgives,
judges,
punishes the wicked,
and rewards the good

she tells me that jesus
is her savior
the messiah
and the angels
guide and protect us

ginny’s spent half her life
in and out of hospitals
she’s always been sick
they call it crohn’s disease

ginny tells me she’s going to
heaven
if god were to call for her
if she was too sick

but when he calls for her
ginny won’t be scared
because she knows that she’s
going to heaven

i believe in reincarnation
in souls coming back
and living again and again

ginny, she could have been a
deer
always unsure
delicate and fragile

me, i could have been a
bird
always flying

ginny tells me she believes in
life
in living life to the fullest
in living everyday as if
it were the last
in “carpe diem”
and “everyday is a gift”

but i don’t always believe it

and ginny tells me that
i don’t understand
that i never really see her

but i can see
how ginny really is
underneath her fierce exterior
of viviousness and laughter
under a cloud of lilac perfume
and smudges of eyeliner and lip gloss
ugg boots and faded jeans
wrapped up in folds of purple scarves

that sometimes ginny just
breaks down
and hides away
from the world
and doesn’t believe in
anything

they don’t understand
they whisper about her
they pick her apart
and i want to scream
“please don’t judge her!”

because i really do see her
but when i tell ginny that
she just shakes her head

and i can see how
through ginny’s eyes
the world,
is so very beautiful
but also, so very
cruel
and i wish she could really see…

but now as i hold her tight
and cradle her in my arms
and ginny just sobs and sobs and screams…

ginny tells me she doesn’t believe in
herself

i believe in ginny