We are all
bodies in motion
We slide
ride
wheel
feel
force
our way into the music
in whatever form our bodies —
our crip
gimp
spaz
lame
fat
crooked
but
not
broken
bodies,
take us
make us
curve
crash
and soar
our limbs
into the air
onto the floor
against chair
poppin' wheelies
against crutch
spinning in circles
against shoulder
supporting dips
against stage
supplying lift
and
it's
all
fair
game
when we're
all
game
all down for a dance
or two with you,
woman four feet tall
in sexy red heels
and you,
man with white cane
and smooth swagger
you,
Deaf girl who throws
off the hearing aid and
throws up the peace sign
during All You Need is Love
and you
and you
and you
who don't stop to ask
what's wrong with me
but only see what's right
in front of you:
me
dancing
dancing
dancing
Sami Schalk is a feminist poet from Southgate, Kentucky. She received her Bachelor degrees in Creative Writing and Women's Studies at Miami University of Ohio and her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Notre Dame. Sami is a Cave Canem fellow and member of Women Writing for (a) Change. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in CC&D, Diverse Voices Quarterly, The Battered Suitcase and elsewhere. Currently, she is a doctoral student at Indiana University in Gender Studies.
