For one year, I danced
Overalls on, one strap down,
triangle pendant swinging,
shining in the club lights.
I moved across the floor
to Andy Bell’s angelic voice,
drawn toward the sound
of the closet door opening.
For one year, I made a new me,
one with fewer boundaries,
with more possibilities,
with a rainbow aura
wreathing my head.
I drew the eyes of men.
I felt the hands of women.
I did not have the words.
I knew them anyway.
At dinner with my cousin
on the way out west,
I handed her a box
containing my new heart.
She held onto it for thirty years,
until I found the key and
unlocked it again.
“Always” by Erasure poured out.
Again, I danced.
/ / /
29 June 2025
Charlottesville VA