Recalcitrant

This poem was inspired by the modern dance piece \'Mary\'s Garden\' that was choreographed by Emma Lou Huckabay, she dedicated it to her sister, who died at age seventeen from falling off a cliff while running away from a mental institution. I saw this dance preformed beautifully on February 24th, by a dancer named Knute who is a member of the \'Huckabay McAllister Dance\' group. This poem has been banging around in my head ever since.

Recalcitrant

As she fell through the cool night air she tasted freedom.
She had always been submissive, obedient, quiet.
But one day she said \'NO\'
They decided she was crazy and sent her away.

The Institution was ten stories of industrial gray brick,
With the street at the front and the Cliff at the back.

At first they tried to cure her with medication.
She no longer said \'NO,\'
She was silent,
Studying the lines in her palms for hours on end,
And brushing her hair ceaselessly.

Then they tried electricity.
This only caused her to retreat into the confines,
Of her own consciousness,
Listening to the voices that only she could hear.

One night she felt the moon calling her.
She ran,
Her pulse thudding in her ears.
Tripped.
Fell.
Reached for the moon and was free.

As she fell she tasted freedom for the first, and last, time.

Recalcitrant, an adjective meaning, \'Stubbornly resistant to authority, domination, or guidance\'

May 1, 2001
JediGurrl