Elastic Smiles
For one moment, we were free.
We danced in the hallways; we moved. In the foyer when Dad came home, Mom set the record on and desiring his attention and born with rhythm, our small feet and bodies swayed.
The Jackson Five and Mick Jagger, Gloria Estefan, and Michael Jackson. Sam's feet always cracked hitting the floor like knuckle pops. Amy always hopped side to side like a grasshopper, and I spun around and around like a ballerina, because I could then. My little heart sparked with joy like freedom and elastic smiles in those moments. That smile stretched so far; it snapped from brittleness.
2020
About the Creator
Vivian Clarke
Third-culture-kid-now-adult with a melancholic disposition trying to make sense of life, like anyone else.
I live for my daughter, cats, and coffee.
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