Shoes of a Dancer

Viewed from the side,
Their arcs reveal
The dancer’s countless
Pointing and flexing
For the art called dance.

They are soiled.
No longer the immaculate
Pink that they used to be.
Stained and dirtied by the
Stages she has danced on.

They’re tied above
Her strong ankles,
Firm around
Her calloused feet,
And worn out by friction.

But when the dance is over,
And they’re untied,
They’re kept or tossed aside.
Her feet, again flat on the floor,
Just like everybody else.

-Katherine Lopez
(29 August 2010)