i was in croatia
to learn how to be
a contemporary performer
for the first 3 days of learning
i slept in a room
with four boys
i felt my bed shift
when the boy above me
twitched in his sleep
that’s good material
my performance teacher said
she likes my movements
but she’s worried
i am exposing myself
she asks me
do you have shorts
for under those shorts
i don’t
i don’t have pants
anymore either
because i hung them
out to dry
and they blew
into someone else’s lawn
the people who live
there didn’t answer
the door when i knocked
when you are black
nothing is secret
the lady who owns
the theatre yelled at me
for using the bathroom
you are not allowed
to do that
she yelled
my performance teacher likes
how i can
stand on one leg
longer than everyone
else in the class
the french girl
in the program
went to use the bathroom
and the lady
who owns the theatre
was nice about it
i like her a lot
but she doesn’t
really know how
to get out of a chair
without leaning forwards
she keeps on forgetting
where her stomach is
which is the center
of everything
my body works
i want to tell
the lady who owns
the theatre my body
works even better
than yours
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From Empathy by Asha Futterman. Copyright © 2025. Available from The Song Cave.
