The Middle Child

No one ever remembers Gene Forrester.
If he weren’t a fictional character
on an all-too-familiar journey of
self discovery,
he might be upset.
(jealous of Holden Caulfield even)
I’d like to talk to him,
If he were real, that is.
He’s like the middle child,
lonely and intellectual.
Completely void of attention.
No one cares.
His story is not a classic.
It’s not required reading for
high-school students across the nation.
Maybe Knowles was jealous of Salinger.
Maybe he yearned for a successful novel
that would spark the interest of
curious teenagers for decades to come.
If Gene Forrester were real though,
and
(hypothetically, of course)
he reads this,
I want him to know that
I remember him.