Poet’s note: This poem is inspired by the story in Taylor Swift’s song ‘Better Than Revenge’ from ‘Speak Now’. I wrote this poem from Taylor’s perspective about a rival girl who tries to push her down whenever she rises.

She saunters ahead of me in every road
Trying to leave me in her dust
She makes sure to criticize my every move
I have to take each step with mistrust.

Her daunting presence is everywhere
Pampered and pretty and the favourite of all
Yet she can’t seem to stand me whenever I’m around
She tries to trip me to my downfall.

And then she laughs for a beat
Smothering it when everyone sees me on the ground
She holds out a hand, with a face masking deceit
Only to push me back when they turn around.

She thinks she has so much power
She fools the world with her winning smile
And she assumes I’m the rival trying to conquer her
From a kingdom far away another mile.

But what she just doesn’t get,
Is that I don’t want what she has
All her charm, her beauty, her popularity
I’m content to be left to my own knacks.

Not a penny do I care about her
As long as she lets me be
Her frivolous ways mean nothing to me
Because if she thinks she’s the princess?

Then I’m the queen.