pt3 dance of reclamation

I stopped doing what brought me joy. 

I couldn't. 

What brought me the most joy felt hard, Like trying to dance with chains around my ankles. 

The weight of memory made movement impossible. 

Then I started moving my body slowly again, Tentative steps toward what once was freedom. 

Then I belly danced for the first time in a while, 

Hips swaying, 

hands telling stories older than words, And suddenly I started falling in love with my body again. 

Moving seamlessly with the music and flowing 

Like water finding its natural path. 

Not dancing was making me fade away without noticing, 

A quiet disappearance, a silent surrender. But in the rhythm, in the movement, I found pieces of myself I thought were lost forever. 

My body remembering joy before my mind could.