I hone the steel to a mirrors hue,

Sharpen the pick’s so I can spin on a dime,

Wind the laces around flesh and bone,

Then step onto the ice, my second home

The ice does not forgive, forget, or remember,

Despite my battering at it with blades and bone

It’s unfazed by the sharpness of my skates

But they are the only weapons I own

I dance across its surface, harder even than stone

A battered beauty I create

Of giving heart and body, pound for pound, own for own

I skate.