armless
she stuns at first glance
but looks past rude stares
to allow gawkers the opportunity
to reveal their kinder, gentler selves
it doesn’t always happen

befriending the boy
whose Tourette’s keeps him
alone in a world filled
with ‘others’ who simply
haven’t been separated yet

someday those others
will each be all alone
and maybe remember
what it felt like
when the armless girl smiled
and gave them a second chance

[Prompt 8: Try and condense the plot of a book, any book, into a poem. It can be very direct and recognizable, or abstract and obscured.]