Viktoriya

The first one with that name I ever knew —
‘Victoria’ was the spelling in that case —
was not the British queen as you’d expect.
Victoria d’Agostino was the one.
She was a child who died when she was eight;
the circumstances, I can’t bring to mind.
The tragedy affected my school greatly,
for she was then a friendly third-grade student.
Her parents, devastated by their grief
yet wanting to do something for the school
that their dear child attended while alive,
established an award that bore her name.
The plaque that hung outside our school’s front office
had young Victoria’s likeness printed on it.
And underneath, one entry for each year,
were names of students given this award.