[...]she gave her a
pair of glass slippers,
the prettiest in
the whole world.
-
C. Perrault, 1697-
On lily feet
I danced at the balls of
Grimm, Disney, Perrault
Cinderella,
the princess with the
little slippers,
envied by many.
7cm, lotus flower, golden
lilies
a pearl
in the hand of someone
who would find hobbling
erotic
helplessness alluring
a pearl
in the hand
of a man.
Shoes are children
we offer them on the altar
Guanyin, you hear the
women's tears
the cried and the uncried
count how many are mine.
Red bean dumplings
to soften the bones,
winter's frost
to numb the feet,
unsuccessfully.
alume, ground almonds,
mulberry, roots and urine,
skin, shriveling like a
badly folded origami pagoda, toes sewn,
blood and pus, bandaged in
a shroud, rotting flesh
days and days, pain and
pain,
and no prince to save me.
stumbling across the room,
again and again
and
again
until they broke.
bones newly deformed
to fit into these damn
shoes of gold, silk, fur, glass
No one envies my big
footed sisters
but trust me
cutting off the heel, a
toe
that's nothing compared to
golden lilies
the
most precious part of me
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