Dear Mrs. Lisa
Dear Mrs. Lisa,
I hope I never let you down,
Though I know I could be quite a handful back then.
I remember when I was just a kid
When I sacrificed the only homecoming I would ever have
For your ballet class.
And I’m still breathing,
though the memories roll down my cheeks.
I remember years and years of work
Wrapped in tights and a black leotard.
Mrs. Lisa,
I remember you more vividly than anything else.
Once upon a time this was the only thing I wanted
Your class was the beacon at the ends of my days.
I hope you believe that,
I hope you understand that I never gave up.
I just… moved on in my life.
Things are different now,
But three years later you still cross my mind
And I think back fondly,
Fondly to the things I can’t quite reach any longer.
Mrs. Lisa,
I still live for the stage,
I simply realized,
Ballet gave me a chance to move forward,
To bigger things.
I hope you are proud of me,
I want nothing more
Than to know that you are proud of what I have become.
I have tried, in every moment, to keep you close.
I heard things have changed
From time to time I hear whispers,
And these days the whispers hurt my heart.
I look back with nothing but fondness,
I can’t seem to say the same for the rest.
At times I want to start all over,
Learn everything again,
Go through all the tears,
All the blood and sweat,
And relive every moment.
Every so often, I find my way to a show,
Bury myself in a back corner
And I let everything come rushing back in
In those moments I miss it.
But Mrs. Lisa,
I need you to understand,
Ballet was never my destiny,
I think you knew that,
You knew I would find something bigger than myself.
And I did,
I found something so much bigger.
Hoping You Will Remember Me,
Sophie Ellis
P.S. There has been, and will always be a piece of you in everything I do