By Susan Miller

She always felt
like the ugliest girl 
in the room. At
6, 16 or 60. Skin that 
was pale, picked at.
Clammy hands,
desperate eyes. 
A hopeless, nagging 
chorus cracked
mirrors in her head.  
Not magazine pretty,
cheerleader lovely.
A low-wire flop.
Until one day it hit
her: In a pine box,
she thought,
there she could be
simply exquisite,
utterly worthy.

Susan Miller is an editor/reporter for USA TODAY newspaper who enjoys creative writing as a hobby. Her poetry has appeared in several publications, including Whimsical Poet, The Dillydoun Review, Gemini Magazine, Common Ground Review, Months to Years, Under the Bridges of America, Sandy Paws and the Arlington Anthology. She had a short story published in Beach Life.