MY RIGHT FOOT

I am heavy on my right foot

that shoe always wears first

and I am the wrong shape

for dancing.

I am anchored to the earth by my leaden foot

and the broadness of my shoulders,

cut off from the silver tides and the siren-pull of the moon.

*******

Once Upon a Time:

I dance in quicksilver ribbons of lightning, searing white and hot-jagged hitting the earth through blue-green glades of enchanted forests.

And I dance, beleaguered by red wolves and grey-boned witches, slow-flapping birds with ragged wings and the murderous haunt of demon lovers.

And I dance, light as a wedding veil and the smooth cream slip of silk, under the diaphanous light of a beamed moon, through purple-shaded dryad groves to rest on cool, green moss-covered crosses heavy with iridescent lilies.

And I dance on with the blue-ghost fireflies under the mother-of-pearl moon.

And I dance on, sylph-like, feather-light, perfect, fused into my white-light prism, until I am wings. Only wings. Pure white wings.

*******

I am heavy on my right foot

I am the wrong shape

for dancing.