Shadow Dance

On What Could Have Made it to "This is a Spill, This is a Spell"

Initially, my book “This is a Spill, This is a Spell” included an additional piece by the name “Shadow Dance.” It touched on a different kind of admiration than the love found and love lost that made the crux of my book. This one is about lust and perhaps about the one that got away or even the one that never became. No matter how much I intended to keep it in my book, there was something about it that told me to leave it out. It was different than the rest and deserved to live on its own or in another work someway somehow. I think it’s time that I let you in on what could have made it to “This is a Spill, This is a Spell” :

Shadow Dance (draft)

I don’t know what led you to sit next to me on your first day at my middle school. You were a transfer student though it was already mid-year. Everyone’s eyes followed you. You were off the press headlines and everyone wanted to take a turn reading. You were fresh meat and like a lion, I was not immune to your smell. Already the popular kids had their hooks in you the moment you walked into our home room that morning. They were so quick to volunteer and show you from class to class, taking you under their wing and inevitably, you become part of their flock.

Despite already being claimed, I could tell you were a free spirit, venturing off for lunch that day and roaming the cafeteria for a place to settle into. Maybe you were a stray gazelle desperately trying to make your way back to your herd, but no. You were rebellious and liked to fly your own course from time to time. This latter part of you, I have come to admire the most.