(Prompt Photo: Jon Tyson on Unsplash.com)

thump
thump
the pointe shoes scoot under me
scraping on the floors
the soft sound echoed in the empty room
alone the walls seemed to swallow me
my body lifted off the ground in a capriole
the practiced motion too familiar
thumpit was louder than I wanted
good ballerinas float down, not land
thump
my mind wandered to the street I walked
earlier in the day
a sign had caught my eye
taped to a streetlight
it told me good news was coming
I hoped it was true
thump
I changed my stance
preparing to practice pirouettes
the box of my shoe scooting under me
the wood of the shank creaking
I desperately need new ones
thump
music in the background filled my ears
the violins surged with soul
I felt nothing
I craved sleep
my eyes burned and my muscles shook
thump
the more I practiced the better I got
I wasn't the best
I needed to be the best
thump
good news was not coming my way
fractures covered my mind and heart
I was broken
thump
I was trapped in a cage
made only for me
I could see the outside world
but the outside world could not see me
thump
the only good news that could come
was freedom
I have no freedom
thump
spot
pull up
turn out
shoulders down
balance
turn
land
thump
I have done this thousands of times
it's simple
still it's difficult
it has to be perfect
I have to be perfect
they will still love me if I'm not
but they will love me more if I am
thump
maybe if I keep working
the good news will come
I need it to come
freedom
how can I feel it brush my fingertips
and still be so far away
thump
I should quit
no
I've spent my life reaching toward this goal
I have it
I work for a company
I'm a ballerina
thump
I'm trapped
thump
good news is coming
to rescue me from the cage
to seal the fractures
to stop my mind from breaking
thump
I only have to wait
one minute
one day
one month
one year
one lifetime
thump
good news is coming