Ballet Dancer Poem by Elena Plotkin
Ballet Dancer
They used to call me twinkle toes,
And I had my fill of admirers and beaus.
I was quite a dancer of ballet,
My pirouette and my grand plié
were talked about for months and days.
I had my choice of theaters and plays.
I was photographed and interviewed.
I had rich men begging me for an interlude.
I had money tossed at me as if it were confetti,
I was envied by people that were talentless and petty.
And then all at once at the very peak of my illustrious career,
I lost it all because I developed a taste for hamburger and beer.
(C) 2013 Copyright Elena Plotkin
The poem is as beautiful as a petite ballet dancer. The last two lines abruptly end a nice imagination.
hamburger and beer! what could be better? what brings me cheer? Elena in.....or OUT OF... her black tight sweater!
In his Canto 81, the venerable modern master, Ezra Pound, issued a stern warning to humankind: PULL DOWN THY VANITY, IT IS NOT MAN / MADE COURAGE, OR MADE ORDER, OR MADE GRACE, / PULL DOWN THY VANITY, I SAY PULL DOWN. Contemporary poets no longer use that BIG prophetic voice that came naturally to poets like Pound, Yeats, Hart Crane but we still need to hear and heed lessons in humility. Your poem does just that, saving the the redress of vanity for the very end. What a let down, what a bummer, what a - well, you get the picture. I'm shocked that an artist could give up their career for sensory indulgence. But many do, some with drugs, some with food, some with other bad habits. This speaker doesn't seem to realize she squandered her gift and deprived her audience for the most trivial of reasons. Shame on you - oops, there I go again. This a moral lesson taught in a light-hearted manner. Shut up, Daniel, Elena made her point!
This poem is magnificence. I see the beer and burger as a metaphor that everyone should be able to relate to....So well done!
this one HAD to go to MyPoemList. wish i had written it. well, i can't be the author of ALL the great poems on poemhunter. this one belongs to you, elena. thanks for sharing. i was going to comment on which lines i really enjoyed, but there were so many; i didn't want to have to paste the whole poem, line by line well, almost. okay...... i ESPECIALLY enjoyed these three: I was quite a dancer of ballet, My pirouette and my grand plié were talked about for months and days. thanks for sharing. :) bri
Ballet is such a beautiful art of dancing. It is so dainty and touching with agile and swift movements. Just don't overload on hamburgers and beer (smile) . I loved this.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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3/26/2023 1:51:01 PM # 1.0.0.1112
Hamburger and beer? ! Wow, a hard hit! People would rather associate ballerina's crave with cakes and chocolate. I hope one day ballet will update its way of being... Is a pirouette less beautiful if the interpreter has a kg or two plus? As for the drinking yeah that can destroy many lives.