I performed my newest solo HER-E-Sies in October. Part of getting back on stage means dealing with insecurities. Standing on stage is like having a mirror that is a magnifying glass. I am post menopausal. So my body has changed in ways I never thought it would. What I find myself in love with is the wisdom that my body is able to bring to the embodiment of creative human movement. To the experience of kinectic conciousness. I am encouraged by this journey. There is innovation, wisdom and freedom to be discovered.
I remembered writing this poem several years ago when I turned 40. I thought I would revisit it to see how if feels ten years later.
Ode to the Wisdom of My Middle-Aged Body
I celebrate the curves and suppleness of my hips
That move and fill me as I embrace the strength and potency of seasoned thighs.
Teasing the envy of my youthful body, as I glance sideways at today’s naked frame.
Offering much acceptance, appreciation and love to the journey that my body is on.
Each day reveals signs of how my Ghanaian, Angolan, Enslaved African, native American, Carolinian and Pennsylvanian feminine ancestors are embedded in my DNA.
I could not have imagined that my figure alterations would bring me this much humor and grace.
I present myself As---Is
With intelligence,
Chunky arms that cradle,
Shoulders rolling to a rumba rhythm,
Hips that swirl and churn,
While my thighs twerk and dip-
Each phase stressing my ferociously womanly swagger.