Poem: I Too Have A Dream

I too want to float across the stage as if I were on ice.
I too want to wear the shoes of fame and to see my feet come alive.
I too want to dance all the lead roles in all the major ballets
and have Coppelia's, Cinderella's and Swan Lake's coming out if my toes.
I too have a dream.

To dance is to have a dream and to work for that dream why we train daily.
The fire in our calves after a rigorous workout is the same fire that rages through out stomachs.
Although the blisters sting and the swelling of our feet make us want to stop
the power over dance compels us to continue.

Hunger and starvation go together like tights and Tu Tu's.
The pressure for us to be the best helps us fight on.
Battles lost and won push us into starvation.

The media portrays thin as beautiful,
delicate as real.

I too want to dance and I too starve.
The power of dance is more than any above.
A supernatural force that gives us the strength when we are tired
and weak to follow our dreams and dance.
I too have the power to fight.
And I too want to win.

Someday I will take centre stage knowing what I have done was worth it,
my fight to the bitter end just to say
I too have a dream.