Smurf As A Nickname Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Because he was shorter than others his own age
And because he had spiky hair and sort of funny features
He was assigned Smurf as a nickname

And the assigners came from both homes with swimming pools and driveways and trailers squatting next to junkyards strewn with the carcasses of fossil automobiles
They came from two loving parents or one bitter single parent or a barely in the picture legal guardian
They went on to be famous athletes and grocery store clerks, academics and businessmen and the people who install your cable

We took part in communal mockery of someone with a perceived handicap, real or imaginary, large or small, physical, social or completely made-up
And if you feel close enough to call a stranger brother or sister
This is based on a shared part of culture, of experience
Having overcome not much of anything but having blown up a minute difficulty or two into titanic struggles