Spanish Passion

her name warbles from the speakers
she glides out empty rink
red dress ruffling
shouts and applause

spanish guitar emerges and she must begin
all alone she must fill the ice with
red passion
truly center of

attention

body
flexible agile strong
jumping spinning stroking smiling

until a crazy edge and
a fall

music does not stop
can’t start over

she finds her feet and
continues
still smiling

but the fall has rattled memory
and the moves are forgotten

picking up the pieces of thought
she does her finale and smiles again

clapping follows her off the ice
as she grows up a little more