Ice

Five, Six, Seven, Eight

And hold.

 

The carved ice sculpture, shrouded by night

Her crystal muscles tense

Her slender corpse can hold.

And hold.

And hold.

 

To be made of ice:

Drain the blood and remove the flesh,

Fill the emptiness with frozen perfection.

Then you could really hold.

 

Tighten the tummy, point the foot

Fingers just so.

After all, you’re on stage.

What will they think

If you can’t hold?

 

What if you melt?

 

Reviews

[eversosweetly]

This reminded me of ballet, too ("tighten the tummy, point the foot"), but I interpret it to mean some sort of performance in general. This resonates with me because for a very long time I felt as if I needed to appear to be perfect--I was always "performing" in order to earn somebody's love. And when someone showed me love even when I inevitably "couldn't hold", I could not wrap my mind around it.

But, you know, eventually something breaks and you have to let the ice melt. There is a perfectly good human beneath the ice who is trying her best, makes really big mistakes, but is still loved and forgiven.

[Dante Balsote]

Yeah, sounds like stage fright. :)

[Nianque]

Remind me of ballet for some reason or something that requires physical perfection. I love how you used ice and the resulting questions. Great job !