the passing of Mary Beth

there's a picture

of Mary Beth in the newspaper.

i had a crush on her

in high school.

she was once

queen of the prom,

captain of the cheerleaders,

valedictorian

and voted most likely

to succeed.

she passed away in her sleep

after a long illness,

after forty years

of working at Walmart.

if i had known

she worked there i would have

gone in once

in a while.

i can still see her in that red

bikini.

i have a picture in my wallet.