The Dancer

My head is a cloud of hairspray and bleach
My arm a paper’s edge in the spotlight
Inside me there are bones I cannot reach.

Heart flutters like the insect we did teach
Caught in the glass; I shine into their sight
My head is a cloud of hairspray and bleach.

After the show I know that they will preach.
Steer me wasting away from public eye
Inside me there are bones I cannot reach.

They ask me did you eat, their words a screech
But ink and glitter pool over my eyes.
My head is a cloud of hairspray and bleach.

Try diet coke, a cube of cheese or peach.
The world is black with little stars… knees shake--
Inside me there are bones I cannot reach.

Did you notice how small my wrists were white?
The lightest.  Did you notice how they cheered?
My head is a cloud of hairspray and bleach
Inside me there are bones I cannot reach.

Artwork by Gina Kiel