Her heart pounds in rhythm
with the soft melodious music,
with the constant pressure
of the floor against her toes.
Her head begins to throb
in the same beat as her heart,
thinking of moves five steps ahead.
Chassé and fondu
into a grand jeté,
while still being graceful,
delicate, and strong.
The calluses bust open
with every pounding, dainty step
and she smiles with the pain.
She prays that the tape
sustains her ever weakening ankle,
because without her feet
she will lose her worth.
Exertion soaks her leotard,
seeping into the deep, stinging trenches
of her poor callused feet.
She cries as blood trickles
from each little crack
because she knows that pirouette
was the best she's ever spun.
But this weakness is only temporary
as she leaves everything she is
on that hard wooden floor.
Kristina Benedict
is a reporter for the Southeast Missouri State University student newspaper. She majors in journalism and hopes to become a professional news anchor. Kristina enjoys writing poetry and short fiction stories in her free time.