I was seventeen
and fearful in my body,
awkward and stiff
in that latina dance class,
pale fish out of water.
And she looked like a gargoyle
come to life,
a fat wild girl
with a lazy eye,
a nightmare gypsy
who also did not fit
the tidy room.
But when she danced
time shifted,
her weight ballooning
into grace,
her passion streaming
to make ugly
something coveted,
a freedom cavorting,
daring us to drop
into truth,
to whirl in something larger.