I forever exist within her shadow,
this great She: the accomplisher, the overachiever.
Artist and poet, Rachael the Magnificent!
Words with no meaning, Elle the Rejected.

I, the plain one,
the boring one,
everybody's girl next door,
am your shadow.
Trailing along (destination unknown),
always half a step behind
and forever underneath.

I am your rough copy.
I exist in the professor’s
red-markered graffiti, “Needs Improvement.”
B, not an A,
minus, never plus,
a decimal above average,
just one step below brilliant...

Perfection beyond reach.