ballerinas

Cherry

By a.lesser.thing

Thu, 02 May 2013
  • 617 reads
4 comments
 

The space between
the lump in my throat,
my mouth, and my mind
feels infinite.

Ballerinas
smile and wear
stunning leotards,
ribbons lacing around
their legs, muscled calves
and eventually, down to
pink slippers which encase
broken, bruised, sore-ridden
toes. They ignore the pain
and dance on, obsessed
with the idea of
perfection.

To think
they understand
the feeling of balancing
yourself on one toe, and
trying to either hang on
or let go.

Certificate PG
Poem
Unclassified

Comments

Submitted by The Walrus on
Stunning imagery, A.l.t.

Submitted by a.lesser.thing on
Thank you! Also thanks to rask_balavoine for the like. :)

 

Submitted by VeraClark on
This is quirky and light. I have always been interested in ballet - the whole body image thing is a political old world.

 

Submitted by a.lesser.thing on
I love ballet. I did tap dance for a short time while I was a kid, and ever since then, I've just had a fascination. Especially as I grow older and watch them--it's just amazing. That kind of talent for finding balance, overcoming pain, etc. is just... stunning. And indeed it is! I think it's getting better as of late, though. Maybe not perfectly, but I think a large number of people are realizing that there's not just one body type, and so you can't judge someone on if/if not they are skinny, curvy, wide-shouldered, and so on because there's so many types of structures that it would be unfair to everyone.