Belle Of The Ball

There is no escaping the fact that I’ve been inspired by LGBTQ History Month, so inspired in fact that I’ve written this poem on topic of dancing especially to commerorate the event. I’ve deliberatly written it from the point of view of two mature women one of whom may be a transwoman, becoming romantically involved after meeting at a dancing class. I’ve given it the title Belle Of The Ball I hope you enjoy the read.

Belle Of The Ball

my partner birls me round the floor
I’m feeling apprehensive
she told me relax
as she takes me in hand
and whispers something io
says she knew that I was just the right type
she would teach the steps and the twirls
from that moment on
I gave her my trust
I knew she liked dancing with girls

Of course she’d been married
for most of her life
the respectable types
always are
she knew she liked women
she had since her teens
though she thought it a step too far
as she taught me to waltz
as a women should do
and to tango the
Argentine way
we kissed under stars
and got in to the grove
our desires had come to play

she told me her daughters encouraged her
to take up dancing lessons
the youngest one said she should talk to the priest
and maybe start going to confession
it’s just in case you meet a man
who gets you all excited
or maybe do what Katie did
like kiss a girl and like it.

my dancing partner smiled at the thought
as her youngest daughter blushed
I’ll just see how it goes she said
and enjoy some fun filled lust
her daughters thought that we were friends
until they saw us kiss
in ways that only women know
we shared some midnight bliss

She told them all it’s my time now
it’s time to take a chance
your dad would be so proud of the fact
I taught this girl to dance
he knew I had my tendencies
and the passions I kept at bay
he said that I should dance with girls
if that was nature’s way

As its if he was giving his blessing
she told me as we danced
she’d waited all her life for this
we had to take the chance
a woman knows what a woman knows
and she knew what to say
I felt like the belle of The ball that night
and we danced to the break of the day

© Gayle Smith 2022

Echoes

In this poem I reflect on two of the strong women who helped shape me into the woman I’ve become. I’ve given it the title Echoes I hope you enjoy the read.

Echoes

You will hear them in the silences
in the time when night and morning mingle
before the daybreak signals a change of shift
the echoes of voices and memories
will whisper to you in sunshine and snowstorms
equipping you to cope with whatever
nature decides

A child of the Clyde whose maternal rivers ran red
you recall stories told by a gran who worked in service
convincing you of the need for independence and socialism
to build a better Scotland
as she introduced you to poetry
music and heritage
saying Scotland was so much more than biscuit tins and Burns
Kailyard she said was the preserve
of Conservative Scotland
and a world we’ll never inhabit
nor want to

then there was the pragmatic mum who helped you discover yourself
in more ways than she could ever have imagined or wanted
these echoes do not haunt you
instead they bring comfort
in the stillness of night
at the time when the stars act as street lights
they watch you through the night
wrapping you in warmth
as the darkness sprinkles
moondust on your dreams

it is in these silent moments
when you lie sleeping
you’re heart will hear the words
of those who have made you
the fighter you are
as thoughts from your past form patterns
to be crafted into poems
dropping jewels in your memory bank
to be worn as symbols of womanhood.

© Gayle Smith 2020