She Speaks Urdu
She speaks Urdu
She is French down
to her core
But she speaks Urdu
To make her smile a
little more
Because it takes her
far away
And she speaks it
because it's odd
And just a little
bit absurd
And maybe energizing
and maybe serene
Hoping to let go
Of all she's
clenching with her hands and with her heart
Hoping to let go
of everything she has
Within her heart
Have you seen her?
Have you seen her on
her toes
Dancing ballet
It's a game she has
to play
Even she knows
It will break her
bones and leave her feet with scars
But if she gives up
Someday she may
forget how to stand up straight
And lord knows
What will happen if
she cannot stand up straight
She loves fashion
And on days when
she's upset
She gets dressed up
On her worst days
you can bet
Her eye shadow
Will be every shade
of blue
But it's never
overdone
And days when she
most wants to run
To the wilderness
and hide away and
Play with the
chipmunks all day
Or steal away to
Rome
She wears high
heeled boots to keep her walking home
And her paintings
Oh but you would not
believe
How she paints them
Splashing lilac on
her sleeve
Dripping fuchsia
On her finished
hardwood floor
And the skirt she
bought last week
Has a long sapphire
streak
So you'd think she'd
be a mess
And that's what she
will confess
But her paintings
look so neat
And she says they're
incomplete
Just the way she
thinks she is but
She is not, no, she
is not!
At all
The way she thinks
she is
She knows better
Somewhere far beyond
this trance
She is better
Past the fashion and
the dance
She is stronger
And she doesn't need
to act as if she needs to act at all
Because even when
she lets go of her posture and her make up and
Her boots and even
Urdu
Because even when
you cartwheel off the balance beam you're living on
The people will
applaud you and the ground is not so far
And you can live
And you can live
Without forgetting
who you are
