The Puppets Dance

I reminisce upon the time. Female bodies were o  u  t  s t  r e c h e d limber and trained daily routines getting down onto the floor the boys watching from the tiny gymnasium window view and pressure thinking "nail it every count." On cue crouched up jazz hands smash the air on bended knee swivel turn and quick kick jump freeze, pelvis in the air "my I'm almost as flexible I was at eight. " Knees pop joints feather and swoosh legs in the air neck thrown back as we wave away tension and get on with the movement just us girls till six years later you come to realize it's the boys, those simple routines all just preparations your body went through were only for your being taken advantage, the men add you to the list and write you off as a black mark as you dance alone in your bedroom, wishing you could travel back, tell yourself, "your worst fears will soon be true."