Swan Lake

Pointed toes and pirouettes

My spine stretches on forever

Elegant, graceful,

Poised perfectly.

Fouette turns and puffy

Pink tutus flaring out

Speckled with glitter,

I sparkle like a star.

Grand jetes that soar

Across the floor,

Legs parallel to

The ground below

Like a deer prancing

Through a shaded forest.

Scabbed feet, toes bleeding

The hard-toed shoes don’t bring

Pride, but pain. 

Head in a fog,

Ribcage trying to 

Escape my skin.

Elbows jut out,

Hip bones so sharp,

My body punctuated

By protruding ankles. 

Not pretty enough.

Not skinny enough.

Not so pretty in pink.

About the Author

Melissa Eckelmeyer is a sophomore English major. She has been writing stories and poems since she was six years old. When she is not writing or reading, she can be found playing with dogs and eating ice cream.