Voices tell her she’s not good enough
Voices that whisper ever so softly in her ear
They do shout
Slipping her beat-up feet inside a pair of soft leather ballet shoes
She lifts her head to discover the owner of one of the voices
Shudders
This is a hallucination
But she never gets let in on the secret
Straightens his posture
‘You’re going to fall’
Rubs temples, attempting to change the channel inside her head
‘I won’t fall, I never fall’
Figure steps a little closer
Too close for comfort
Places a hand on her head & wipes away a tear
Here to help or hinder her pursuit?
Dance gets underway
Stands in one corner smirking
Does an Ecarte
Turns her head in the opposite direction
Continues…
Know what you’re thinking… confusing, huh?
Imagine just how she/he/it feels
Fearing everything going on around her… him
Terrified, mortified, petrified, stupefied
Bends an awkward toe, forehead waters
Like a dream she can’t wake up from
Dreadful dream
Doesn’t know what’s real, what’s not
Is she even dancing?
Or maybe she is the grotesque man
If so, then the body, the beautiful body that she possesses needs to fail
Toes crumble; face falls… body twitches uncontrollably
Teacher only ever gets to see a fallen ballerina
‘Til she’s laughing on both ends
A ballerina with schizophrenia
