The Red Shoes by Katie Jenkins

I dance through sleep 
while others dream

the stars on their distant throne
are nothing to me

there will be no more stained glass
no incantations

I dance through grief
while others mourn

my tears are nothing to me

I am no-one’s beloved 

I am a ribbon whipping on the wind

my feet are match-tips
blood red phosphorus 

striking the ground
burning me away 

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Katie Jenkins has recently completed a creative writing diploma at Oxford University, England. Her poetry is in print with The Everyman Library in their Pocket Poets series, and online with Floodlight Editions. She has poems forthcoming with Acid Bath Publishing and The Poetry Bus. Her travel writing about diving with sharks in Fiji has featured in the UK’s Guardian newspaper. There aren’t many sharks where she lives in Gloucestershire, England, with her husband and son.