I saw her many times, how easy it is to recall; An infantile delight, she charmed teachers, peers and all. She smiled that perfectly dimpled smile, her hair abundant with curl; I stared at her with wonder, charmed by the Cool Girl.
Schooling is kind to them, to them but not to me; While I buried my head in books, she socialised effortlessly. I observed from worlds away, a pedestal erected for the pearl;
It sat up high, above the masses, how they adore the Cool Girl.
Her mother’s teachings she learned so well, another cool girl in her day; Passing on lessons of ill-intentions, they can’t help but adopt their way. But this girl younger, just as bold, she takes you for a whirl; And unless you be as cool as her, beware the Cool Girl.
As they grow, so do their games, graduation from the playground; And I who was never taught this game, equal footing could not be found. Cliques and boys and lesser girls, with smiling insults to hurl; I become disillusioned, with them and with Cool Girl.
The girlish laughs, that coquettish sound, careless with utmost grace; Life is but a stage to cool girl, and you must know your place. If you stray, if you rise, your misery they’ll unfurl; And beat you back and beat you down, such is the way of Cool Girl.
Cool Girl is ‘kind’, Cool Girl ‘cares’, she wants nothing for you but the best; But better than her you cannot have, she’ll make bettering you her quest. Competitive women and passive aggression, jealous is the churl; Toxic femininity is the handbook of the Cool Girl.
While they belittle and exploit, destroying women for personal gain; They ensure their own undoing, their ‘coolness’ is their bane. They never learn, they never grow, bitterness is their world; And I with those books and inner warmth, pity the Cool Girl.
I saw her many times, how easy it is to recall; She fell from grace and esteem, and oh, what a great fall! She’ll go on playing games, her nails will never furl; And I will never again be charmed by the charming Cool Girl.
Written by Megan Adler.
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