My Heart Beats, I Dance

My Heart Beats, I Dance

In the studio on the big

shiny floor we get ready.

First on go out disco-dance leggings.

Neon yellows, pinks, oranges.

I choose lime-jelly green.

Next, we dab on silver glitter,

get rid of shyness,

tie laces.

Our teacher claps three times

and we all move into position.

Some run, others glide.

I push.

I have two arms,

                           two legs,

                                        four wheels.

I come here to find

new ways to move.

Out there, where other hands

hold me back, I’m called disabled.

But who decides?

Here, when we begin to move

we’re all dancers,

we’re all able.

Our teacher says ‘life is an improvisation’.

Here feels natural, free.

Here I tell my story.

I close my eyes, cast out

my fingers a hundred miles,

each note covers my whole body.

I hear the squeak

of pumps and I’m a

dolphin,

riding waves.

Soaring through the surf.

Alive in the sea.

Spin, slide, touch, turn.

Spin, slide, touch, turn.

© Stephen Lightbown from And I Climbed And I Climbed, illustrated by Shih-Yu Lin (Troika 2023)