I Dance

It took me a long time to live in this skin;

But now, I like it here.

Barry Humphries made me realise,

That sight is not the only sense

But it is the one that judges most.

But if we live our lives by judges,

Then we'll always feel judgement and prejudice

And the jerks of loads of other "juds".

I want to feel other things.

I want to feel a beat in my belly

And I want it to move me,

Filter into me and take me over.

I want it to raise the corners of my mouth

And dominate.

And with that beat, I'm going to close my eyes

And dance like no-one's watching

Through the disapproval and the temptation to mock

As your eyes rove curiously over my widening, slackening form.

I'd look better if I was toned but I'm beyond that

And the moment is here, now and it wants to go

Because time is a driver with a schedule it must keep

And this song is a stop on that ever-moving airport walkway.

I accept the pound of music from a time before,

I revel in the way that it makes me feel;

I am moved by being moved.

I close my eyes and reveal the girl

That I still am, really.

And because my eyes are closed

I imagine yours are too

And liberate myself to the pure enjoyment of the dance.

***