Pavlova The Dying Swan

Pavlova The Dying Swan

Born too soon, a tiny gem,
but too late for the dance.
Such a pale, petite la femme,
Pavlova begged for her chance.

Your passions emerged at eight,
but your build did not conform.
Yet with a zeal for the dance stage,
you took the ballet world by storm.

Nothing else in life would fulfill you,
so you made the very first pointe shoe.
Feminine, willowy, fragile, lithe form,
You adapted and learned to make do.

You upstaged all other young girls
in spite of ankles dainty and weak.
With bourrées like a string of pearls,
and a spirit untarnished and meek.

Life was dance that you sailed through,
relying on your own style and pragmatics.
When you tried dancing like others not you,
Pavel Gerdt said,"Forget the acrobatics!"

Dancing made you feel alive and free,
It was the art that kept you strong.
At 50 you died from severe pleurisy,
But you gave one final Swan Song.

"If I can't dance then I'd rather be dead."
You clutched your Dying Swan costume.
"Play the last measure very softly." you said
And you left the world hearing that tune.

There upon the wall is a famous plaque,
In The Hague at the Des Indes Hotel.
Inspired by a swan who never looked back,
and the performances she gave so well.

by: Kimarie Manhart-Freeman