Do You Ever Think About Her... — Summary

Do you ever think about her, The girl who helps you out? The one who tells you the answers And leaves without a doubt.

Do you ever think about her, As she sits next to you in class, Jotting down her notes, That you'll take with so much brass.

Do you think about the girl, Who you shout at in the street, When all she's doing is going home, shuffling her feet?

Do you think about the girl, Who's parents think she's shit, Because she got a ninety, Something they wouldn't permit?

Do you think about the girl, as she studies so hard a night, she can't sleep all alone, because you gave her a fright?

Do you think about the girl, who struggles through her life, trying to seem so normal, though wants to take a knife?

Do you think about the girl, who just wants to be like you? 'Cos you should know she thinks of you.

She thinks of what you call her, She hopes to be that good, She smiles and laughs, Though she cries behind the hood.

So call her a nerd, A geek, A boff, But please, Don't ever, Ever, Call her a genius. That's the one thing she knows she can't be.

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Speaking directly to a classmate who bullies her, the speaker describes a hard-working girl who is easy to overlook. She gives out answers, lets others copy her notes, and gets shouted at on her way home. Behind this is a harsher picture: parents who are never satisfied, sleepless nights spent studying, and a loneliness so heavy that she thinks about hurting herself. The repeated question, "Do you ever think about her?", sounds like a plea to be noticed as a person.

The mood is sad and quietly accusing, but also tender. The girl admires the very people who hurt her and wants to be "like you." She smiles in public and cries in private. The ending hits hardest. Insults like "nerd" and "geek" can be borne, but "genius" is the word she refuses, because she feels she could never earn it. The poem suggests that her struggle with self-worth cuts deeper than any name-calling.

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