Zeffirelli was blamed
for weighing her down
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Bodice: Elizabethan
Neck: Oriental
Headdress: Egyptian
But a queen isn’t easily moved
Her subjects must animate
the black-gold motion
of her kingdom
The lighting cue got fucked
so she entered unseen
but her immortal longings—
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Darling!—in darkness a flare
and I wanted to see my dancers
I did
The happening of her however
black mantis in full glide
Goddamn
Alvin Ailey (January 5, 1931–December 1, 1989) was a noted dancer, choreographer, activist and founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
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From The Monster I Am Today: Leontyne Price and a Life in Verse by Kevin Simmonds. Used with the permission of Triquarterly Books. Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Simmonds.
