She knows
the elements of the Periodic table
the way other women know Prada

An avid reader of the literary classics
with an eclectic musical taste
she knows as much about
Moles and Avogadro’s number as
some women know about the salaries
of today’s NBA stars

She can seamlessly
integrate and differentiate
mathematical functions
while simultaneously using
the quadratic equation
to answer questions
about the projectile
of a ball flying across the room,

she can curl her
right hand around a wire
and tell you the direction
of the magnetic force
while using her
left hand to give
a power point presentation
on the conflict of the Gaza strip

she is an intellectual
with swag
a unique character in a society
where dumb is the norm

but growing up;
she was the uncoordinated
knock kneed girl
sitting in front of the class
with the coke bottle glasses

the one everyone lived to make fun of
because she didn’t wear trendy clothes
talked like a white girl
acted differently
didn’t wear makeup
kept her hair undone
and spent most
of her time reading
studying
avoiding
the schoolyard bullies
that made her existence
a living hell

she was the poster child
of who not to be
an outcast
burdened with the inflammatory
labels of
nerd
geek
square
even believed by some
to have that dreaded disease,
the “Cooties”

her youth was the worst
her free time was spent
quietly fighting back the tears
as her peers threw their
successes in her face

Going to the Prom with their
soon to be baby daddy,
the future NBA star
they lost their virginity to
after the party for the in-crowd
the previous weekend;

they were expecting now
and their life would take on
fairy-tale like qualities

she secretly wished she
could be in their shoes
indulge in their carelessness
be included in their circle
but inside she
knew she was different

the misery of being an outsider
was nearly unbearable
but she stayed the course
investing her time into doing
what she does best
studying
pouring her soul into
becoming a better person
from the inside

the years passed
as one by one the fairy-tales
of her peers came crashing back to reality
single parenthood
baby daddy issues
dried up deferred dreams
and failed delusions of a world
they thought owed them something
because they had potential
and were cool

but even as their lives
unraveled and crumbled
they talked down
to the nerdy girl with the cooties

she stayed the course
maintained her focus
prayed
kept studying
until she graduated
from high school
from college
with her Masters
with her Doctorate

no matter
what life threw at her
she kept studying and working
until she punched
through the glass ceiling
and grabbed her dreams
by the throat

while her former peers
spent their time lamenting
about the unfairness of the world
she was busy reconstructing
her future

In the end
Cinderella
wasn’t someone that got
saved from her dreadful
existence by a Prince sweeping
her off her feet

She was a sister
who made her fairy-tale happen
through her blood
through her sweat
through her tears
and with an understanding
God would never steer her wrong

Brothers
if you’re looking for a wife
you may want to open your eyes
and see the nerdy knock kneed
sister sitting in the front of the class
with the coke bottle glasses…

I believe her name is
Cinderella