by H. E. Casson

I was once a dancer
Perhaps the very best
That the world had ever seen
A cross between a spinning top
And frijoles saltarines
And if I sometimes fell
It was a part of the dance as well

I was once a dancer
Until someone told me dance
Is not just movements
Picked by chance
But a very specific
Leap or stance

That must be
Choreographed, rehearsed
Frontward, backward
Left and reversed

And suddenly
I was not the best
Nor even highly rated
So now I do not dance
In fact

I hate it

Written for, and performed as part of, Ryerson University’s Disability Studies event, Arts With Attitude.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.